Short- and Long-Term Plasticity at the Axon Initial Segment
- Matthew S. Grubb1,
- Yousheng Shu2,
- Hiroshi Kuba3,
- Matthew N. Rasband4,
- Verena C. Wimmer5, and
- Kevin J. Bender6
- 1MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology, King's College London, London SE1 1UL, United Kingdom,
- 2Institute of Neuroscience and State Key Laboratory of Neuroscience, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China,
- 3Department of Physiology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan,
- 4Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas 77030,
- 5Florey Neuroscience Institutes, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia, and
- 6Gallo Research Center and Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, Emeryville, California 94608
Abstract
The axon initial segment (AIS) is a highly specialized neuronal subregion that is the site of action potential initiation and the boundary between axonal and somatodendritic compartments. In recent years, our understanding of the molecular structure of the AIS, its maturation, and its multiple fundamental roles in neuronal function has seen major advances. We are beginning to appreciate that the AIS is dynamically regulated, both over short timescales via adaptations in ion channel function, and long timescales via activity-dependent structural reorganization. Here, we review results from this emerging field highlighting how structural and functional plasticity relate to the development of the initial segment, and to neuronal disorders linked to AIS dysfunction.
- Received August 8, 2011.
- Revision received September 9, 2011.
- Accepted September 9, 2011.
- Copyright © 2011 the authors 0270-6474/11/3116049-07$15.00/0
