Have you seen ? Small , smaller . . . dendritic spine

Spines are highly motile protrusions emerging from the dendritic shafts of neurons. The dynamics of these postsynaptic structures are ruled by actin filament turnover. However, our understanding of the mechanisms of actin polymerization in dendritic spines is quite ambiguous. A recent study by the Giannone laboratory (Chazeau et al, 2014) is now shedding some light on the peculiar features of actin polymerization in dendritic spines, which are distinct from the known canonical mechanisms.