The Role of Fragile X Mental

Introduction Fragile X Syndrome (FXS) is the most common form of inherited mental retardation, caused by a trinucleotide repeat expansion resulting in silencing of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene in humans. The array of disorders caused by mutations in this single gene includes mental retardation and autistic behaviors. There is much evidence that the protein product, fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP), is particularly important in aspects of dendrite morphology. Analysis of the role of FMRP in dendrite formation and maintenance is important not only in our understanding of FXS, but also in the study of learning and cognition in general.