Protective role of Cadherin 13 in interneuron development.

Cortical interneurons are generated in the ganglionic eminences and migrate through the ventral and dorsal telencephalon before finding their final positions within the cortical plate. During early stages of migration, these cells are present in two well-defined streams within the developing cortex. In an attempt to identify candidate genes which may play a role in interneuron stream specification, we previously carried out a microarray analysis which identified a number of cadherin receptors that were differentially expressed in these streams, including Cadherin-13 (Cdh13).

Large and Small Dendritic Spines Serve Different Interacting Functions in Hippocampal Synaptic Plasticity and Homeostasis.

The laying down of memory requires strong stimulation resulting in specific changes in synaptic strength and corresponding changes in size of dendritic spines. Strong stimuli can also be pathological, causing a homeostatic response, depressing and shrinking the synapse to prevent damage from too much Ca(2+) influx. But do all types of dendritic spines serve both of these apparently opposite functions? Using confocal microscopy in organotypic slices from mice expressing green fluorescent protein in hippocampal neurones, the size of individual spines along sections of dendrite has been tracked in response to application of tetraethylammonium.