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Regulation of AMPA receptor recruitment at developing synapses

Benjamin J Hall1, Anirvan Ghosh

  • 1Neurobiology Section, Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0366, USA.

Trends in Neurosciences
|January 19, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Neurotransmitter receptors called NMDA receptors (NMDARs) negatively regulate AMPA receptors (AMPARs) in developing brains. However, NMDARs positively recruit AMPARs in adult brains, showing developmental differences.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Synaptic Plasticity
  • Developmental Biology

Background:

  • Fast synaptic transmission relies on AMPA receptors (AMPARs) and NMDA receptors (NMDARs).
  • The ratio of AMPAR to NMDAR current increases during neural development.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the differential roles of NMDAR signaling in regulating AMPARs during brain development and in the adult brain.

Main Methods:

  • This study synthesines findings from recent research on NMDAR and AMPAR function.
  • Focuses on the developmental regulation of synaptic currents.

Main Results:

  • Early in development, NMDAR signaling suppresses AMPAR expression and function.
  • In adult brains, NMDAR signaling promotes AMPAR synaptic recruitment during long-term potentiation.

Conclusions:

  • NMDARs have opposing effects on AMPAR recruitment depending on the developmental stage of neural circuits.
  • This highlights the dynamic regulation of synaptic function by NMDARs throughout development.

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