Here’s how Brose describes what he’ll discuss during the session:
Synapses, the junctions between nerve cells, are the key information processors in the brain. They mediate signaling between nerve cells by the release of chemical messengers — or neurotransmitters — from a sending nerve cell, and the subsequent detection of the neurotransmitter by a receiving cell. In the human brain, some 1 trillion nerve cells, connected by 1,000 trillion synapses, control all our thoughts and behaviors.
A key breakthrough in autism research is the discovery that single mutations in genes encoding protein components of synapses can cause autism. Researchers have homed in on members of the neuroligin family of synaptic adhesion proteins (structural proteins that bridge the junction) as potentially important in autism. In this webinar, I will describe how neuroligins control the proper formation of synapses, how their loss perturbs synapse function, and what this might mean for understanding and treating autism.
The post Webinar: Nils Brose examines synapse proteins in autism appeared first on Spectrum.
