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Synaptic plasticity

Dendritic spines go retro

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 7, pages 506–507 (2006)Cite this article

...endocannabinoids...are prime candidates as retrograde signals in synaptic plasticity.

Thought to be produced postsynaptically in response to specific physiological stimuli, endocannabinoids have several potential cellular targets, two of which are the cannabinoid receptors CB1 and CB2. Of these receptors, so far only CB1 has been found at the presynapse. If endocannabinoids act on CB1 presynaptically, as has been proposed, these molecules are prime candidates as retrograde signals in synaptic plasticity. In the hippocampus, the predominant endocannabinoid thought to be involved in synaptic plasticity is the fatty acid derivative 2-arachidonoyl-glycerol (2-AG), the synthesis of which is thought to be mediated by the enzyme diacylglycerol lipase-α (DGLα). The authors found that the highest expression levels of DGLα were indeed in the hippocampus, and in particular at the heads of dendritic spines — sites of synaptic plasticity for glutamatergic synapses — of hippocampal principal cells.

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Katona, I. et al. Molecular composition of the endocannabinoid system at glutamatergic synapses. J. Neurosci. 26, 5628–5637 (2006)

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  1. Samantha Barton
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Barton, S. Dendritic spines go retro. Nat Rev Neurosci 7, 506–507 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1963

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1963

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