How the Brain Gets Wired

A new study has found important mechanism used in setting up the communications network of connections in the brain. The results of the study could help adults suffering from brain injuries and possibly help early diagnosis and treatment schizophrenia, autism or other developmental disorders.

The study by the Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital at McGill University is published in the journal Neuron.

A signaling pathway involving interactions between a schizophrenia-linked gene product, Calcineurin, and a transcription factor known as Nuclear Factor in Activated T-cells (NFAT) contributes to the connectivity at nerve cell (neuron) junctions or synapses and affects the extent of nerve cell projections or dendritic branches, in the visual system.

"Our study shows that changes in synaptic connections are also controlled by alterations in the transcriptional profile of the cell which governs protein production," says Dr. Edward Ruthazer, neuroscientist at The Neuro and lead investigator of the study. There is a growing body of evidence that transcriptional regulation, an important step in the process of making proteins, is a key regulator of long-term changes in synaptic connectivity.

Reference:

1. Getting wired: how the brain does it, Montreal Neurological Institute and Hospital