Mechanisms of NMDA receptor-dependent LTP and LTD in the hippocampus.

人类大脑包含一个巨大的神经元网络，通过称为突触的专门连接进行通信。突触是大脑功能的基础，但它们并不是永久固定的，相反，突触在整个生命过程中会随着大脑活动的变化而产生和失去。此外，突触的强度可以被修改，以使神经元之间的连接或多或少有效。这一过程被称为突触可塑性，它使神经元网络的活动能够被经验所改变。因此，突触可塑性被认为是我们学习和记忆能力的基础。突触可塑性的机制已被广泛研究在啮齿动物海马，一个大脑区域的记忆形成至关重要。这项研究将探讨大鼠海马神经元突触可塑性的一种形式，即长时程增强。我们将研究在长时程增强过程中加强突触的变化，以及这些变化实际上是如何发生的。这些结果将增加我们对突触可塑性的变化如何与神经元功能和学习过程的变化相关的理解。

The human brain contains an enormous network of neurons which communicate via specialised connections known as synapses. Synapses are fundamental to brain function but they are not permanently fixed, instead synapses are made and lost throughout life in response to changes in brain activity. In addition, the strength of a synapse can be modified to make the connection between neurons more or less effective. This process, known as synaptic plasticity, enables the activity of neuronal networks to be altered by experience. Synaptic plasticity is therefore believed to underlie our ability to learn and remember. The mechanisms of synaptic plasticity have been extensively studied in rodent hippocampus, a brain region essential for memory formation. The proposed research will investigate one form of synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation, in rat hippocampal neurons. We will investigate the changes that occur to strengthen synapses during long-term potentiation, and how these changes actually happen. The results will increase our understanding of how changes in synaptic plasticity relate to changes in neuronal function and learning processes.