Preface Michael R. Kreutz, Carlo Sala -- Molecular organization of the pre- and postsynaptic scaffold: 1. Uli Thomas, Stephan Sigrist: Glutamate receptors in synaptic assembly and plasticity – case studies on fly NMJs -- 2. Chiara Verpelli, Michael J. Schmeisser, Carlo Sala, Tobias M. Boeckers: Scaffold proteins at the Postsynaptic Density -- 3. Laurent Fagni: Diversity of metabotropic glutamate receptor interacting proteins and patho-physiological functions -- 4. Peter Penzes, Igor Rafalovich: Regulation of the actin cytoskeleton in dendritic spines -- 5. Olena Bukalo, Alexander Dityatev: Synaptic cell adhesion molecules -- Molecular dynamics of the synapse: 6. Shigeo Okabe: Molecular dynamics of excitatory synapses -- 7. Renato Frischknecht, Eckart D. Gundelfinger: The brain's extracellular matrix and its role in synaptic plasticity -- 8. Robert van den Berg, Casper C. Hoogenraad: Molecular motors in cargo trafficking and synapse assembly -- 9. Martin Heine: Surface traffic in synaptic membranes -- 10. Bong-Kiun Kaang, Jun-Hyeok Choi: Synaptic protein degradation in memory reorganization -- 11. Madhav Sukumaran, Andrew C. Penn, Ingo H. Greger: AMPA receptor assembly – atomic determinants and built-in modulators -- 12. Malgorzata Urbanska, Lukasz Swiech, Jacek Jaworski: Developmental plasticity of the dendritic compartment: focus on the cytoskeleton -- 13. Stefan Kindler, Hans-Jürgen Kreienkamp: Dendritic mRNA targeting and translation -- 14. Mirko Santello, Corrado Calì, Paola Bezzi: Gliotransmission and the Tripartite Synapse -- Synapse-to-nucleus communication: 15. Yasunori Hayashi, Ken-ichi Okamoto, Miquel Bosch, Kensuke Futai: Roles of neuronal activity-induced gene products in Hebbian and homeostatic synaptic plasticity, tagging and capture -- 16. Anna Karpova, Julia Bär, Michael R. Kreutz: Long-distance signaling from synapse to nucleus via protein messengers -- 17. C. Peter Bengtson, Hilmar Bading: Nuclear Calcium Signaling -- 18. Jean-Antoine Girault: Integrating neurotransmission in striatal medium spiny neurons -- Synaptic dysfunction and Synaptopathies: 19. Pamela Valnegri, Carlo Sala, Maria Passafaro: Synaptic dysfunction and intellectual disability -- 20. Craig C. Garner, Daniel Z. Wetmore: Synaptic Pathology of Down Syndrome -- 21. Michel C. Van den Oever, Sabine Spijker, August B. Smit: The synaptic pathology of drug addiction -- 22. Dong-Min Yin, Yongjun Chen, Anupama Sathyamurthy, Wen-Cheng Xiong, Lin Mei: Synaptic dysfunction in Schizophrenia -- 23. Silvia De Rubeis, Esperanza Fernández, Andrea Buzzi, Daniele Di Marino, Claudia Bagni: Molecular and Cellular Aspects of Mental Retardation in The Fragile X Syndrome: from gene mutation/s to spine dysmorphogenesis -- 24. Barbara Picconi, Giovanni Piccoli, Paolo Calabresi: Synaptic dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease -- 25. Elena Marcello, Roberta Epis, Claudia Saraceno, Monica Di Luca: Synaptic dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease.

This book introduces the current concepts of molecular mechanisms in synaptic plasticity and provides a comprehensive overview of cutting-edge research technology used to investigate the molecular dynamics of the synapses. It explores current concepts on activity-dependent remodeling of the synaptic cytoskeleton and presents the latest ideas on the different forms of plasticity in synapses and dendrites. Synaptic Plasticity in Health and Disease not only supplies readers with extensive knowledge on the latest developments in research, but also with important information on clinical and applied aspects. Changes in spine synapses in different brain disease states, so-called synaptopathies, are explained and described by experts in the field. By outlining basic research findings as well as physiological and pathophysiological impacts on synaptic plasticity, the book represents an essential state-of-the-art work for scientists in the fields of biochemistry, molecular biology and the neurosciences, as well as for doctors in neurology and psychiatry alike.