Development of GABAergic and glutamatergic synapses

More than a century ago, Ramon y Cajal based on the cerebellum his initial description of neurons labeled with the silver impregnation method, obtaining evidence in favor of the neuron doctrine. It is perhaps less known that Cajal also made an accurate description of cerebellar development, laying the foundation for successive studies of cell migration, neuronal differentiation, and synaptogenesis. Building on this work, subsequent analyses of cerebellar development have greatly increased the understanding of cellular and molecular events that regulate the assembly of synaptic circuits in the central nervous system. What makes the cerebellum a particularly useful model system is its delayed course of development, largely extending into postnatal life. This chapter describes the current state of knowledge relating to cerebellar synapse development, and reviews recent studies on the molecular and activity-dependent mechanisms that control the spatial specificity of synaptogenesis.