Dendritic spines are small actin-rich protrusions from neuronal dendrites that form the postsynaptic part of most excitatory synapses. Changes in the number or strength of synapses are physiological mechanisms behind learning. The growth and maturation of dendritic spines and the activity-induced changes to their morphology are all based on changes to the actin cytoskeleton. In this review, we will discuss the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton in dendritic spine formation and maturation, as well as in synaptic strengthening. Concerning spine formation, we will focus on spine initiation, which has received less attention in the literature. We will also examine the recently revealed regulation of the actin cytoskeleton through post-translational modifications of actin monomers, in addition to the conventional regulation of actin via actin-binding proteins.

树突棘是神经元树突中富含肌动蛋白的小突起，形成大多数兴奋性突触的突触后部分。突触数量或强度的变化是学习背后的生理机制。树突棘的生长和成熟以及活性诱导的形态改变均基于肌动蛋白细胞骨架的改变。在这篇综述中，我们将讨论肌动蛋白细胞骨架在树突棘形成和成熟以及突触增强中的调节作用。关于脊柱的形成，我们将专注于脊柱的起步，这在文献中很少受到关注。我们还将通过肌动蛋白单体的翻译后修饰检查最近发现的肌动蛋白细胞骨架调控，