title: Molecular neurobiology of human cognition.
abstract: Recent studies into human mental retardation syndromes have given new insights into the molecular underpinnings of human cognitive processing, in particular into mechanisms likely to contribute to learning and memory. In this minireview, we present an overview of one signal transduction cascade that has garnered attention of late in this context, the ras/ERK/CREB pathway. We focus on this cascade because of recent exciting discoveries concerning the basis of neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) mental retardation, which link cognitive defects in this syndrome to disruptions of ras and its intracellular targets.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neuroscience, Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Mental Retardation Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Edwin J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Weeber
authors.forename: J David
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Sweatt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008607:Intellectual Disability / Q000503:physiopathology; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D008954:Models, Biological; D025542:Neurofibromin 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D018631:ras Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein; D025542:Neurofibromin 1; D016194:Receptors, N-Methyl-D-Aspartate; D020928:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases; D018631:ras Proteins