Synaptic Plasticity Flashcards

Flashcards covering key concepts from lectures on synaptic plasticity, including memory, LTP, LTD, and related mechanisms.

What are some reasons why we need memory?

To retain skills, recognize people/places, use language, sustain culture, learn from experience, and build a sense of self.

What is the first step in memory?

Learning, which occurs when our sensory systems send information to the brain.

What is anterograde amnesia?

An inability to form new long-term memories.

What is the role of the hippocampus in memory?

Adds contextual and temporal information; essential for consolidation and spatial navigation.

What brain areas are included in the medial temporal lobes?

Hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus, uncus, anterior temporal cortex, and the almond-shaped amygdala.

What did William James call plasticity?

Elementary Habit

What is LTP?

Long-term potentiation, a persistent increase in EPSP amplitude resulting from high frequency presynaptic stimulation.

Who discovered LTP?

Bliss and Lømo

What is required for LTP induction?

A sufficient level of postsynaptic depolarisation.

What is the role of NMDA receptors in LTP?

NMDA receptors are required for LTP.

What blocks LTP?

AP5, a potent and selective competitive NMDA-type glutamate receptor antagonist.

What is LTD?

Long-term depression of synaptic transmission, induced by low frequency stimulation (LFS).

What is required for LTD induction?

NMDA receptors and calcium influx into the postsynaptic cell.

What do low levels of calcium activate?

Phosphatases

What is the role of protein kinases in synaptic plasticity?

Protein kinases phosphorylate AMPA receptors at the synapse to change their properties or availability.

How does CaMKII enhance AMPARs and their trafficking?

By phosphorylating AMPA GluA1 subunits, triggering exocytosis of AMPARs, and phosphorylating the AMPA binding protein stargazin.

What determines the direction of plasticity?

The induction protocol and levels of [Ca2+]i.

What is depotentiation?

The reversal of LTP by LFS.

What can caffeine do in the hippocampus?

Potentiates glutamate-mediated transmission.

What is metaplasticity?

Previous subthreshold stimulation occludes future plasticity at synapses in the hippocampus.