Neuron Excitability And Learning

Understanding the biological fingerprint of memory is both a fascinating topic and essential to combat the learning and memory impairments associated with developmental disorders, normal aging, and cognitive disorders. Most attention has been devoted to alterations in synaptic connections. However, this article focuses on the changes in neuronal excitability that also occur with learning, particularly in the postburst afterhyperpolarization (AHP) and the calcium-dependent potassium currents that mediate it. Success in learning a task is correlated with alteration in the postburst AHP. This led us to the current hypothesis that proper modulation of the AHP is essential for learning.