Glutamate receptor plasticity at excitatory synapses in the brain

Synapse plasticity, defined as an activity dependent change in the strength of synapses, was first described in 1973 and, since those seminal experiments were reported, the field of synapse plasticity has expanded into one of the most widely studied areas in neuroscience. Significant effort has been focused on determining the expression mechanisms of the changes in synapse strength. The present review will focus on the changes in the post-synaptic expression of glutamate receptors that have been shown to occur during the expression of synapse plasticity. Biochemical studies of excitatory synapses in the central nervous system have revealed a high density of proteins concentrated at dendritic spines. These proteins appear to play critical roles in synaptic structure, plasticity and in trafficking receptors to synapses. There is growing evidence that synapse plasticity could be the cellular basis of certain forms of learning and memory. Determining the behavioural correlates of this fundamental synaptic process will continue to be addressed in current and future research.