Synaptic plasticity and memory: An evaluation of the hypothesis. Martin, S., Grimwood, P., & Morris, R. Annu Rev Neurosci, 23:649-711, 2000.
doi  abstract   bibtex   
Changing the strength of connections between neurons is widely assumed to be the mechanism by which memory traces are encoded and stored in the central nervous system. In its most general form, the synaptic plasticity and memory hypothesis states that "activity-dependent synaptic plasticity is induced at appropriate synapses during memory formation and is both necessary and sufficient for the information storage underlying the type of memory mediated by the brain area in which that plasticity is observed." We outline a set of criteria by which this hypothesis can be judged and describe a range of experimental strategies used to investigate it. We review both classical and newly discovered properties of synaptic plasticity and stress the importance of the neural architecture and synaptic learning rules of the network in which it is embedded. The greater part of the article focuses on types of memory mediated by the hippocampus, amygdala, and cortex. We conclude that a wealth of data supports the notion that synaptic plasticity is necessary for learning and memory, but that little data currently supports the notion of sufficiency.
@Article{Martin2000,
  author   = {SJ Martin and PD Grimwood and RG Morris},
  journal  = {Annu Rev Neurosci},
  title    = {Synaptic plasticity and memory: {A}n evaluation of the hypothesis.},
  year     = {2000},
  pages    = {649-711},
  volume   = {23},
  abstract = {Changing the strength of connections between neurons is widely assumed
	to be the mechanism by which memory traces are encoded and stored
	in the central nervous system. In its most general form, the synaptic
	plasticity and memory hypothesis states that "activity-dependent
	synaptic plasticity is induced at appropriate synapses during memory
	formation and is both necessary and sufficient for the information
	storage underlying the type of memory mediated by the brain area
	in which that plasticity is observed." We outline a set of criteria
	by which this hypothesis can be judged and describe a range of experimental
	strategies used to investigate it. We review both classical and newly
	discovered properties of synaptic plasticity and stress the importance
	of the neural architecture and synaptic learning rules of the network
	in which it is embedded. The greater part of the article focuses
	on types of memory mediated by the hippocampus, amygdala, and cortex.
	We conclude that a wealth of data supports the notion that synaptic
	plasticity is necessary for learning and memory, but that little
	data currently supports the notion of sufficiency.},
  doi      = {10.1146/annurev.neuro.23.1.649},
  keywords = {Amygdala, Animals, Evaluation Studies, Hippocampus, Human, Learning, Long-Term Potentiation, Memory, Models, Neurological, Neural Pathways, Neuronal Plasticity, Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Synapses, 10845078},
}

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