What is CaM kinase II (CaMKII)? CaM kinase II
(Calcium/calmodulin kinase II) is a 500 kDa molecular enzyme
found in the presynaptic and postsynaptic neuronal cell that
modulates a broad spectrum of neuronal activities, of which its
most important modulatory role is in synaptic plasticity and
long-term potentiation (LTP) associated with learning and
memory. Molecular neuroscience research has identified that
CaMKII is implicated in LTP induction in the postsynaptic
hippocampal neurons, which is necessary for long-term memory
maintenance. As a result, modulatory changes in CaMKII have been
hypothesized to be implicated in medical pathologies of memory
including Alzheimer’s Dementia and Angelman’s mental
retardation. However, scientists have shown that CaMKII has
several modulating roles in the neuron in addition to LTP
induction, including presynaptic functions such as
neurotransmitter synthesis, neurotransmitter secretion,
microtubule disassembly, and neurite extension and post-synaptic
functions such as phosp