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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Preparation of Synaptoneurosomes from Mouse Cortex using a Discontinuous Percoll-Sucrose Density Gradient
Published on: September 17, 2011
Regulation and function of local protein synthesis in neuronal dendrites
Changan Jiang1, Erin M Schuman
1Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Division of Biology 216-76, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA.
Abstract:
It has long been shown that protein synthesis can occur in neuronal dendrites, but its significance remained unclear until relatively recently. Studies suggest that local protein synthesis has crucial roles in synaptic plasticity, the change in neuronal communication efficiency that is probably a cellular basis of learning and memory. Induced by neuronal activity, local protein synthesis provides key factors for the modification of activated synapses. In this review, we summarize the evidence for local protein synthesis and its functions in synaptic plasticity. We also discuss the molecular mechanisms by which neuronal activity induces the synthesis of proteins that allow for changes in synaptic function.
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