In search of general mechanisms for long-lasting plasticity: Aplysia and the hippocampus

Long-term synaptic plasticity is thought to underlie many forms of long-lasting memory. Long-lasting plasticity has been most extensively studied in the marine snail Aplysia and in the mammalian hippocampus, where Bliss and Lømo first described long-term potentiation 30 years ago. The molecular mech...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences 2003-04, Vol.358 (1432), p.757-763
Main Authors: Pittenger, Christopher, Kandel, Eric R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Aplysia
Aplysia - physiology
Facilitation
Genes
Genetic variation
Hippocampus
Hippocampus - physiology
Long term potentiation
Long-Term Plasticity
Long-Term Potentiation - physiology
Mammals
Marine
Memory
Memory - physiology
Nerve Tissue Proteins - physiology
Neuronal Plasticity - physiology
Neurons
Persistence
Plasticity
Protein synthesis
Synapses
Synapses - physiology
Time Factors
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Summary:Long-term synaptic plasticity is thought to underlie many forms of long-lasting memory. Long-lasting plasticity has been most extensively studied in the marine snail Aplysia and in the mammalian hippocampus, where Bliss and Lømo first described long-term potentiation 30 years ago. The molecular mechanisms of plasticity in these two systems have proven to have many similarities. Here, we briefly describe some of these areas of overlap. We then summarize recent advances in our understanding of the mechanisms of long-lasting synaptic facilitation in Aplysia and suggest that these may prove fruitful areas for future investigation in the mammalian hippocampus and at other synapses in the mammalian brain.
ISSN:0962-8436
1471-2970
DOI:10.1098/rstb.2002.1247