Activity-Dependent Modification of Ionic Conductances in Cultured Neurons

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9421233 Turrigiano The ability of animals to learn and remember arises from the nervous system. To learn and remember the properties of the neural circuits within the nervous system are modified with experience. These experience-dependent modifications include modifications in both the intrinsic properties of individual neurons and the properties of the synaptic connections between neurons. Models of learning have stressed almost exclusively the role of synaptic modifications in encoding experience, but recent work has shown that experience, in the form of activity in the presynaptic neurons, can profoundly alter the intrinsic firing properties of neurons. This finding identifies an additional powerful mechanisms by which activity can shape neural circuit output. The goal of this work is to determine the mechanisms by which activity regulates intrinsic neuronal firing properties and to ask how this regulation is coordinated with the regulation of synaptic properties to encode experience. This will lead us to a better understanding of how we learn and how we remember.