BIO SCI 38 Lecture Notes - Lecture 11: Eric Kandel, Synaptic Plasticity, Reductionism
10 Jan 2020
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Whether or not an action potential from a pre-synaptic neuron drives the post-synaptic neuron to fire an action potential depends on the history and status of other inputs to that neuron. Whether or not an action potential from a presynaptic neuron drives the post-synaptic neuron to fire an action potential depends on the history and status of other inputs to that neuron. Neurons are continually monitoring and integrating their inputs, outputs, and other extracellular signals to respond appropriately to new inputs. How can we study the molecular and synaptic basis of memory. Due to the complexity of brains it was initially impossible to study synaptic changes after learning directly. Also, any learning event utilizes a subset of neurons, and only some of the synapses on those neurons ( needle in a haystack ). Instead, scientists took one of two reductionist approaches to study synaptic plasticity. Simple system approach: use of invertebrate systems with simple nervous systems.
