Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
4353648 Progress in Neurobiology 2011 20 Pages PDF
Abstract

Glutamatergic synapse development has been rigorously investigated for the past two decades at both the molecular and cell biological level yet a comparable intensity of investigation into the cellular and molecular mechanisms of GABAergic synapse development has been lacking until relatively recently. This review will provide a detailed overview of the current understanding of GABAergic synapse development with a particular emphasis on assembly of synaptic components, molecular mechanisms of synaptic development, and a subset of human disorders which manifest when GABAergic synapse development is disrupted. An unexpected and emerging theme from these studies is that glutamatergic and GABAergic synapse development share a number of overlapping molecular and cell biological mechanisms that will be emphasized in this review.

► Glutamatergic and GABAergic synapses differ at the ultrastructural and molecular level. ► Thus far, little is known about the order of assembly of components at GABAergic synapses. ► Many molecules mediate both glutamatergic and GABAergic synapse development. ► The depolarizing action of GABA-mediated currents drives glutamatergic synapse development. ► An underlying cause of neurological disease is aberrant GABAergic synapse development.

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