Consolidation, Plasticy and LTP

Question 1

What is LTP?

Answer 1

Changes int he presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons

Question 2

What is early LTP? And late LTP?

Answer 2

1. Strong signal
2. AMPA receptors are always here, NMDA receptors open because magnesium is expulsed
3. Influx of Calcium - Activates CaM - Activates PKC - Transports more AMPA receptors to the membrane of the neuron

Late LTP requires the expression of genes

Question 3

What is the role of the hippocampus?

Answer 3

1. Spatial map - A neuron (= place cell) will fire in a specific location
2. Tutorship - Creates a memory trace out of the different components from the sensory cortex

Question 4

What is the difference between systems and cellular consolidation?

Answer 4

1. Systems - Changes in neuronal networks

2. Cellular - Changes in the brain parts involved for retrieval of memory

Question 5

What is the timeline of consolidation?

Answer 5

1. Synaptic consolidation takes place within minutes to hours after memory encoding or learning
2. Distributed learning helps compared to massed learning as it allows sufficient time for protein synthesis to occur