Abstract

Functional studies on postsynaptic scaffolding proteins at excitatory synapses have revealed a plethora of important roles for synaptic structure and function. In addition, a convergence of recent in vivo functional evidence together with human genetics data strongly suggest that mutations in a variety of these postsynaptic scaffolding proteins may contribute to the etiology of diverse human psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, and obsessive-compulsive spectrum disorders. Here we review the most recent evidence for several key postsynaptic scaffolding protein families and explore how mouse genetics and human genetics have intersected to advance our knowledge concerning the contributions of these important players to complex brain function and dysfunction.

Links

Publisher Full Text

Authors

Ting JT, Peça J, Feng G

Institution

McGovern Institute for Brain Research and Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA. jtting@mit.edu

Source

Annual review of neuroscience 35: 2012 pg 49-71

MeSH

Animals
Cytoskeletal Proteins
Humans
Mental Disorders
Models, Neurological
Mutation
Post-Synaptic Density

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

Language

eng

PubMed ID

22540979