Hebbian and neuromodulatory mechanisms interact to trigger associative memory formation.

ABSTRACT: A long-standing hypothesis termed "Hebbian plasticity" suggests that memories are formed through strengthening of synaptic connections between neurons with correlated activity. In contrast, other theories propose that coactivation of Hebbian and neuromodulatory processes produce the synaptic strengthening that underlies memory formation. Using optogenetics we directly tested whether Hebbian plasticity alone is both necessary and sufficient to produce physiological changes mediating actual memory formation in behaving animals. Our previous work with this method suggested that Hebbian mechanisms are sufficient to produce aversive associative learning under artificial conditions involving strong, iterative training. Here we systematically tested whether Hebbian mechanisms are necessary and su

SUBMITTER: Johansen JP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4280619 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature