Editor’s Pick: Mechanism for Long-Lasting Plasticity

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is the best-known and best-characterized form of functional synaptic plasticity. It often involves the enlargement of post-synaptic spines, a process known as structural LTP (sLTP). In this paper, described by eNeuro reviewers as “a noteworthy advance in the field,” Saneyoshi et al. provide key additional insight into the mechanism leading to sLTP.

By using a combination of spatially selective photoactivation and pharmacological manipulations in hippocampal slice cultures, the authors show that transient activation of the guanosine triphosphatase (GTPase) Rac1 is entirely sufficient to induce spine enlargement. This is even the case under blockade of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII), showing that Rac1 operates downstream of that crucial kinase in sLTP induction. In this way, the study extends our understanding of the molecular pathways that produce long-lasting synaptic alterations.

— Matthew Grubb, Reviewing Editor

Read the full article:

Transient Photoactivation of Rac1 Induces Persistent Structural LTP Independent of CaMKII in Hippocampal Dendritic Spines
Takeo Saneyoshi, Chisato Suematsu, and Yasunori Hayashi