Morphological changes associated with long-term potentiation. 1998

N Agnihotri, and J C López-García, and R D Hawkins, and O Arancio
Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, USA.

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a long-lasting form of synaptic plasticity induced by brief repetitive afferent stimulation that is thought to be associated with learning and memory. It is most commonly studied in the hippocampus where it may last for several weeks, and involves the synthesis of new proteins that might play a structural role. In this review we summarize the evidence in favor of modifications of neuronal architecture during LTP. We focus our attention on changes occurring at the level of single synapses, including components of postsynaptic dendrites (dendritic spines, the postsynaptic density, and synaptic curvature), of presynaptic terminals, and the formation of new synapses. We conclude that although many morphological changes at various sites have been observed during LTP, there is no definitive proof in favor of structural changes associated with LTP. However, morphological modifications remain a valid candidate for mechanisms of learning and memory.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D013569 Synapses Specialized junctions at which a neuron communicates with a target cell. At classical synapses, a neuron's presynaptic terminal releases a chemical transmitter stored in synaptic vesicles which diffuses across a narrow synaptic cleft and activates receptors on the postsynaptic membrane of the target cell. The target may be a dendrite, cell body, or axon of another neuron, or a specialized region of a muscle or secretory cell. Neurons may also communicate via direct electrical coupling with ELECTRICAL SYNAPSES. Several other non-synaptic chemical or electric signal transmitting processes occur via extracellular mediated interactions. Synapse
D017774 Long-Term Potentiation A persistent increase in synaptic efficacy, usually induced by appropriate activation of the same synapses. The phenomenological properties of long-term potentiation suggest that it may be a cellular mechanism of learning and memory. Long Term Potentiation,Long-Term Potentiations,Potentiation, Long-Term,Potentiations, Long-Term

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