Long-Term Potentiation: A Synaptic Model For Learning And Memory

Long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission in the hippocampus is the primary experimental model for investigating the synaptic basis of learning and memory in vertebrates. The best understood form of long-term potentiation is induced by activation of N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors. This sub-type of postsynaptic glutamate receptor endows long-term potentiation with Hebbian characteristics, transforming electrical events at the synapse into chemical signals which, in turn, activate the synaptic mechanisms that lead to a sustained increase in synaptic strength.