MIT researchers have identified the enzymes that work behind the scenes on PSD-95, a key building block of synapses, by adding a phosphate group to a specific amino acid in the PSD-95 protein.

Manipulating PSD-95 through phosphorylation could lead to bigger and more robust synapses, which would boost brainpower in both normal and diseased brains, they believe.

“It’s possible that promoting PSD-95 phosphorylation could also help neuropsychiatric illnesses in which synapse function goes awry, such as schizophrenia, depression and autism,” said Morgan H. Sheng, Menicon Professor of Neuroscience at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory.