Synaptic efficacy, a phenomenon that may underlie long-term memory storage, is controlled in part by the regulated translation of mRNAs stored in dendrites. The molecular basis by which specific mRNAs are selected for translation is beginning to emerge and appears to involve at least one mechanism that helps program early metazoan development. Because different neural transmitters elicit different synaptic responses that rely on local protein synthesis, a number of sequence-specific mRNA translational regulatory mechanisms are likely to function in neurons. Such mechanisms may be inferred from those operating in early development and in cognitive disease.