γ-8 TARP predominantly expressed in the telencephalon with abundant distribution on hippocampal excitatory synapses and extrasynaptic membranes. It is expressed in low levels in newborn and neonatal brain and can be found in higher levels in adult brain4. γ-8 plays an important role in increasing the number of synaptic and extrasynaptic AMPA receptors on dendrites and spines. nThe C terminus of γ-8 contains 3 unique stretches of amino acids that are not found in any of the other TARPs. In addition, it contains PDZ-binding motifs. In heterologous cells, γ-8 prolong the current rise time in response to small amounts of glutamate and slow GluA1 receptor desensitization and deactivation.n Several studies have shown that overexpression of TARP γ-8 increases the number of AMPARs in the plasma membrane. In γ-8 knockout mice, AMPA receptor expression is severely reduced from the synaptic and extrasynaptic membranes of dendrites and does not progress through the secretory pathway.