The structure of neuronal circuits that subserve cognitive functions in the brain is shaped and refined throughout development and into adulthood. Evidence from human and animal studies suggests that the cellular and synaptic substrates of these circuits are atypical in neuropsychiatric disorders, indicating that altered structural plasticity may be an important part of the disease biology. Advances in genetics have redefined our understanding of neuropsychiatric disorders and have revealed a spectrum of risk factors that impact pathways known to influence structural plasticity. In this Review, we discuss the importance of recent genetic findings on the different mechanisms of structural plasticity and propose that these converge on shared pathways that can be targeted with novel therapeutics.

大脑中负责认知功能的神经元回路的结构在整个发育过程中均已成型和精炼，直至成年。来自人类和动物研究的证据表明，这些回路的细胞和突触底物在神经精神疾病中是非典型的，表明结构可塑性的改变可能是疾病生物学的重要组成部分。遗传学的进步重新定义了我们对神经精神疾病的理解，并揭示了影响已知影响结构可塑性的途径的一系列危险因素。在这篇综述中，我们讨论了关于结构可塑性的不同机制的最新遗传学发现的重要性，并提出了这些观点汇聚在可以用新型疗法靶向的共享途径上。