Gangliosides, Learning, and Behavior

Gangliosides, a complex group of cell-surface sialoglycosphingolipids particularly abundant in neuronal tissues, are assumed to be involved in a variety of cell-surface events, such as synaptogenesis, regulation of cell-growth, neuronal regeneration (for review see Ledeen, 1984), and, last but not least, synaptic transmission (Rahmann, 1983; Wieraszko and Siefert, 1986). Indeed, some investigators have suggested that exogenous gangliosides promote structural repair after brain lesions in vivo (Sabel et al., 1984; Toffano et al., 1983), which may have implications for recovery of function (Dunbar et al., 1986). The facilitated recovery may be due as well to a reduction in neuronal cell loss and axonal/dendritic degeneration and a subsequent neuronal regeneration or both together (Karpiak et al., 1986). Nevertheless, the molecular events that underlie these effects remain unexplained.