CHAPTER 18 – Learning and Memory: Basic Mechanisms

TL;DR: The discovery of long-term synaptic potentiation accomplished the remarkable goal of furnishing a causal connection between the time scale on which neurophysiological events had traditionally been measured and the time Scale over which pertinent forms of learning and memory are studied.

Abstract: This chapter describes the ways in which the components and properties of the nervous system are used to mediate two of its most important functions—learning and memory. The possible subcellular modifications that underlie learning and memory are discussed in the chapter. The chapter discusses the specific neural circuits that can generate behavior and ways in which learning can change these behaviors and circuits. The discovery of long-term synaptic potentiation (LTP) accomplished the remarkable goal of furnishing a causal connection between the time scale on which neurophysiological events had traditionally been measured and the time scale over which pertinent forms of learning and memory are studied. The chapter focuses on Aplysia, but many other invertebrates have proven to be valuable model systems for the cellular and molecular analysis of learning and memory. In future, it will be important to understand the extent to which specific mechanisms are used selectively for one type of learning and not another.