 | Figure 1
Nature Neuroscience
5, 1035 - 1038 (2002)
Published online: ; | doi:10.1038/nn935
Memory enhancement: the search for mechanism-based drugsGary Lynch | | | | Figure 1. Targets for the development of memory-enhancing drugs.
The production of memory-related synaptic changes occurs in three stages. Step 1: induction. Released transmitter binds to AMPA-type glutamate receptors, which then depolarize the postsynaptic region and unblock NMDA-type receptors. Step 2: expression. NMDA receptors admit calcium and thereby modify AMPA receptors so as to increase the size of subsequent excitatory currents. Step 3: consolidation. NMDA receptors also trigger changes that stabilize the modifications to the AMPA receptors. A rapidly developing aspect of this (3A) involves adhesion receptors, whereas a more delayed component requires genomic events (3B). Current strategies for drug development (red asterisks) target the AMPA receptor component of induction or the gene-signaling component of consolidation.
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