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Long-term potentiation (LTP) strengthens synapses (specialized junctions where neurons come together to communicate) by repetitively stimulating them. It’s considered a key mechanism underlying learning and memory. In their study of hippocampal mossy cells and granule cells of the brain’s hippocampus, Pablo Castillo, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues identified a novel form of LTP in which synaptic strengthening depends on the presynaptic neuron (which releases the neurotransmitter into the synapse) rather than on the postsynaptic neuron (which receives the neurotransmitter). This form of LTP may be involved in learning as well as the neuronal excitation that causes temporal lobe epilepsy. The researchers reported their findings online on August 16 in Neuron. Dr. Castillo is professor in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience and of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, as well as the Harold and Muriel Block Chair in Neuroscience.
Posted on: Wednesday, September 20, 2017