Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
LTP could be produced by repetitive stimulation of the presynaptic terminals, and it is believed to play a role in memory function in the hippocampus, amygdala and other cortical brain structures in mammals. [2] [3] Long-term potentiation occurs when synaptic transmission becomes more effective as a result of recent activity.
Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a persistent increase in synaptic strength following high-frequency stimulation of a chemical synapse. Studies of LTP are often carried out in slices of the hippocampus, an important organ for learning and memory. In such studies, electrical recordings are made from cells and plotted in a graph such as this one.
Here is a summary of the sequence of events that take place in synaptic transmission from a presynaptic neuron to a postsynaptic cell. Each step is explained in more detail below. Note that with the exception of the final step, the entire process may run only a few hundred microseconds, in the fastest synapses. [14]
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 ...
Diagram of a chemical synaptic connection. In the nervous system, a synapse [1] is a structure that allows a neuron (or nerve cell) to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another neuron or a target effector cell. Synapses can be classified as either chemical or electrical, depending on the mechanism of signal transmission between neurons.
Long-term potentiation (LTP), thought to be the cellular basis for learning and memory, involves a specific signal transmission process that underlies synaptic plasticity. [1] Among the many mechanisms responsible for the maintenance of synaptic plasticity is the cadherin–catenin complex. [2]
The induction of NMDA receptor-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) in chemical synapses in the brain occurs via a fairly straightforward mechanism. [1] [2] A substantial and rapid rise in calcium ion concentration inside the postsynaptic cell (or more specifically, within the dendritic spine) is most possibly all that is required to induce LTP.
The process of LTP is regarded as a contributing factor to synaptic plasticity and in the growth of synaptic strength, which are suggested to underlie memory formation. LTP is also considered to be an important mechanism in terms of maintaining memories within brain regions, [ 11 ] and therefore is thought to be involved in learning. [ 10 ]