A synaptic basis for memory storage in the cerebral cortex

作者：Mark F. Bear · 发表于：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 年份：1996 · DOI：10.1073/pnas.93.24.13453 · 被引用次数：319 · 研究领域：Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research、Memory and Neural Mechanisms、Neural dynamics and brain function

A cardinal feature of neurons in the cerebral cortex is stimulus selectivity, and experience-dependent shifts in selectivity are a common correlate of memory formation. We have used a theoretical "learning rule," devised to account for experience-dependent shifts in neuronal selectivity, to guide experiments on the elementary mechanisms of synaptic plasticity in hippocampus and neocortex. These experiments reveal that many synapses in hippocampus and neocortex are bidirectionally modifiable, that the modifications persist long enough to contribute to long-term memory storage, and that key variables governing the sign of synaptic plasticity are the amount of NMDA receptor activation and the recent history of cortical activity.