G2Cdb - Background Information

A crucial area of study in the field of cognition is synaptic plasticity, the ability of neurones to change their response to one another according to the stimulation they receive. Plasticity is heavily studied as a potential neural mechanism of learning. Many such studies involve the use of knockout mice in which one or more genes are deleted or otherwise inactivated; by studying the changes in synaptic plasticity caused by these mutations, scientists can determine the functions of the genes. Our database is, to the best of our knowledge, the first systematic survey of this area of research.

At a molecular level, the synapse is the most complex component of the human body. The Post-Synaptic Proteome (PSP) is believed to contain over 1,100 proteins. G2C's main focus of study is a subset of the PSP known as the NMDA Receptor Complex (NRC), a set of approximately 185 proteins. Many members of the NRC are known to be involved in learning and other cognitive processes.

The NRC genes are also studied in the human population. Geneticists work to identify individuals, families and populations who carry mutations in the genes. Often they are led to discover the mutations because the people suffer from neurological or other disorders. Currently, approximately one-third of the NRC genes are believed to be associated with diseases (the actual number may be larger as many of the genes have not been studied in detail). Our database includes summaries of these studies.