Review Article
BDNF and Synaptic Plasticity: The Recent Cell Biology for Understanding of Brain Disorders
Toshiyuki Mizui1,2* and Masami Kojima1,2 | |
1Bio-interface Research Group, Health Research Inst., National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Osaka, Japan | |
2Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology (CREST), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Kawaguchi, Japan | |
Corresponding Author : | Mizui T Bio-interface Research Group Health Research Inst. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) 1-8-31 Midorioka, Ikeda, Osaka 563-8577, Japan E-mail: t-mizui@aist.go.jp |
Received November 27, 2012; Accepted March 20, 2013; Published March 26, 2013 | |
Citation: Mizui T, Kojima M (2013) BDNF and Synaptic Plasticity: The Recent Cell Biology for Understanding of Brain Disorders. Clin Pharmacol Biopharm S1:004. doi:10.4172/2167-065X.S1-004 | |
Copyright: © 2013 Mizui T, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Abstract
The cell biology of synaptic plasticity and neurotrophic factor has been extending to the understanding of pathological mechanisms of brain disorders. This knowledge could prove beneficial for the development of new therapies against brain diseases. Dendritic spines are actin-rich structures, which are part of most excitatory synapses in the central nervous systems. Recent studies have shown that the morphological plasticity of the spine plays a crucial role in higher brain functions, such as learning and memory. How neuronal activity modifies the morphology of the spines is an exactly prominent issue. Brain-derived Neurotrophic Dactor (BDNF) is a traditional, yet fully characterized neurotrophic factor, and the key role in the adult brain is to modulate synaptic plasticity. This review focuses on recent advances in the research of dendrite spines, synaptic plasticity, and BDNF. Lastly, the recent research of BDNF for the development of new therapies, in particular, against depression is discussed.