Achieving synaptic stability: An investigation of processes that maintain glutamate receptor clusters at synapses

据说，记忆可以持续一生，然而，构成记忆基质的分子是高度不稳定的蛋白质，它们的寿命远远短于它们所代表的记忆。虽然有人可能会想象，如果一个分子被细胞损坏并降解，解决方案就是用另一个类似的分子来代替它，但这远非直截了当，因为记忆的存储被认为要求这些分子以精确的模式排列，在模式的每个点上都有一定数量的分子。因此，有必要将降解的分子从哪里返回。看来，我们需要的是记忆的记忆！由于这是相当荒谬的，因此需要寻求另一种选择。理想情况下，需要一种机制，一旦建立记忆就能自我稳定。重要的是，任何机制都必须有能力表现出一定的适应性，因为记忆并不总是强大的，可以增强，但也可以消失。最近，我们一直在探索一些关于可能使神经元产生稳定记忆的机制类型的理论观点。我们的想法包含了一些不太常见的生物过程特征，并接受了生物构建块的退化和需要在比记忆丧失更快的时间尺度上被替换的观点。在我们目前的工作中，我们希望通过实验来检验我们的理论观点，以确定稳定性是否来自分子群体的行为，而不是任何单一元素的活动。

Memories, it is said can last a lifetime and yet the very molecules that form the substrate for memory are proteins that are highly labile and have a lifespan far shorter than the memory they represent. While one might imagine that if a molecule became damaged and was degraded by the cell, the solution would simply be to replace it with another molecule just like it, this is far from straight forward as the storage of a memory is thought to require these molecules to be arranged in precise patterns, with certain numbers of molecules at each point in the pattern. Thus, it is necessary to return the degraded molecule from whence it came. It would seem that what is needed is a memory for memory! As this is rather absurd then an alternative needs be sought. Ideally, a mechanism is required that self stabilizes once the memory is established. Importantly, any mechanism must have the capacity to show some adaptability, as memories are not always robust and can be augmented but can also wain. Recently, we have been exploring some theoretical ideas about the types of mechanism that might enable neurons to generate memories that become stable. Our ideas incorporate some less commonly considered features of biological processes and accept that the biological building blocks degrade and need to be replaced on a time scale far more rapid than the loss of memory. In our current work we are looking to test our theoretical ideas with experiments designed to determine whether stability arises from the behaviour of populations of molecules not the activity of any single element.