Multiprotein complex signaling and the plasticity problem.

Synaptic transmission of distinct patterns of spikes, or 'neural code', leads to plastic changes in synapses and other parts of the neuron, as well as learning in animals. Recent findings indicate that specialized multiprotein structures associated with neurotransmitter receptors and cell-adhesion proteins function as molecular devices that both read the neural code and initiate long-term changes in synaptic structure and function.