AUTHOR=Winnubst Johan , Lohmann Christian TITLE=Synaptic clustering during development and learning: the why, when, and how JOURNAL=Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience VOLUME=5 YEAR=2012 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/molecular-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnmol.2012.00070 DOI=10.3389/fnmol.2012.00070 ISSN=1662-5099 ABSTRACT=

To contribute to a functional network a neuron must make specific connections and integrate the synaptic inputs that it receives in a meaningful way. Previous modeling and experimental studies have predicted that this specificity could entail a subcellular organization whereby synapses that carry similar information are clustered together on local stretches of dendrite. Recent imaging studies have now, for the first time, demonstrated synaptic clustering during development and learning in different neuronal circuits. Interestingly, this organization is dependent on synaptic activity and most likely involves local plasticity mechanisms. Here we discuss these new insights and give an overview of the candidate plasticity mechanisms that could be involved.