Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Gating mechanisms in the basal ganglia have been linked to our ability to filter irrelevant information and access relevant information from working memory. [10] In this instance, the gatekeeping function is the responsibility of the thalamus. It opens the gate between two areas in the cortex, allowing for the influence of stimuli in working ...
Memory allocation is a process that determines which specific synapses and neurons in a neural network will store a given memory. [1] [2] [3] Although multiple neurons can receive a stimulus, only a subset of the neurons will induce the necessary plasticity for memory encoding. The selection of this subset of neurons is termed neuronal allocation.
These are collectively referred to as postsynaptic receptors, since they are located on the membrane of the postsynaptic cell. Postsynaptic potentials are important mechanisms by which neurons communicate with each other allowing for information processing, learning, memory formation, and complex behavior within the nervous system. [2]
As neurotransmitters activate receptors across the synaptic cleft, the connection between the two neurons is strengthened when both neurons are active at the same time, as a result of the receptor's signaling mechanisms. The strength of two connected neural pathways is thought to result in the storage of information, resulting in memory.
Two molecular mechanisms for synaptic plasticity involve the NMDA and AMPA glutamate receptors. Opening of NMDA channels (which relates to the level of cellular depolarization) leads to a rise in post-synaptic Ca 2+ concentration and this has been linked to long-term potentiation, LTP (as well as to protein kinase activation); strong depolarization of the post-synaptic cell completely ...
The research indicates that this long term potentiation or in the case of inhibitory synapses, long term depression of the synapse occurs after prolonged stimulation of two neurons at the same time. Long term potentiation is known to have a role in memory and learning, which could be useful in treating diseases like Alzheimers.
Neurons form networks through which nerve impulses travels, each neuron often making numerous connections with other cells of neurons. These electrical signals may be excitatory or inhibitory, and, if the total of excitatory influences exceeds that of the inhibitory influences, the neuron will generate a new action potential at its axon hillock ...
An electrical synapse is an electrically conductive link between two abutting neurons that is formed at a narrow gap between the pre- and postsynaptic cells, known as a gap junction. At gap junctions, cells approach within about 3.5 nm of each other, rather than the 20 to 40 nm distance that separates cells at chemical synapses.