RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Synaptic Actin Dysregulation, a Convergent Mechanism of Mental Disorders?
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 11411
OP 11417
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2360-16.2016
VO 36
IS 45
A1 Zhen Yan
A1 Eunjoon Kim
A1 Dibyadeep Datta
A1 David A. Lewis
A1 Scott H. Soderling
YR 2016
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/36/45/11411.abstract
AB Actin polymerization governs activity-dependent modulation of excitatory synapses, including their morphology and functionality. It is clear from human genetics that neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disturbances are multigenetic in nature, highlighting the need to better understand the critical neural pathways associated with these disorders and how they are altered by genetic risk alleles. One such signaling pathway that is heavily implicated by candidate genes for psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders are regulators of signaling to the actin cytoskeleton, suggesting that its disruption and the ensuring abnormalities of spine structures and postsynaptic complexes is a commonly affected pathway in brain disorders. This review will discuss recent experimental findings that strongly support genetic evidence linking the synaptic cytoskeleton to mental disorders, such as schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders.