Recent advances in understanding synaptic abnormalities in Rett syndrome
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 25, 2026
Dynamic Clamp Methods to Investigate Impaired Neuronal Excitability Associated with Autism
Published on: October 17, 2025
Michael Johnston1, Mary E Blue2, Sakkubai Naidu3
1Developmental Neuroscience Laboratory, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Abstract:
Rett syndrome is an extremely disabling X-linked nervous system disorder that mainly affects girls in early childhood and causes autism-like behavior, severe intellectual disability, seizures, sleep disturbances, autonomic instability, and other disorders due to mutations in the MeCP2 (methyl CpG-binding protein 2) transcription factor. The disorder targets synapses and synaptic plasticity and has been shown to disrupt the balance between glutamate excitatory synapses and GABAergic inhibitory synapses. In fact, it can be argued that Rett syndrome is primarily a disorder of synaptic plasticity and that agents that can correct this imbalance may have beneficial effects on brain development. This review briefly summarizes the link between disrupted synaptic plasticity mechanisms and Rett syndrome and early clinical trials that aim to target these abnormalities to improve the outcome for these severely disabled children.
