Topic: dendritic compartment

Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is an important regulator of synaptic activity and a mediator of LTP of hippocampal synapses. Furthermore, synaptic activity controls mitochondrial fission and dynamic control of fission regulates plasticity induction in hippocampus. Given the important role of mitochondrial fission in establishing LTP and knowing the key role of BDNF in LTP induction, we hypothesized that the effects of BDNF on synaptic potentiation could be mediated by mitochondrial fission. We observed that local protein synthesis of Drp1, a key mediator of mitochondrial fission, is