Connecting the dots: from actin polymerization to synapse formation.
Protrusive behavior of dendritic spines on developing neurons has been previously suggested to mediate the formation of new axodendritic synaptic contacts. A study by Zito et al. in this issue of Neuron links actin polymerization in dendritic spines with the motility that the spines exhibit and the synapses that they form.
Dunaevsky
Anna
A
Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, 190 Thayer Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA.
D000199:Actins / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*
D000199:Actins