Producing long-term potentiation of cells in the mammalian nervous system requires ____.
A) a burst of many stimuli within a few seconds
B) many stimuli spaced at exactly equal intervals over a period of minutes
C) minutes of uninterrupted inhibitory stimulation
D) a simultaneous pairing of an excitatory stimulus and an inhibitory stimulus

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a process of strengthening connections between neurons that occurs in the mammalian nervous system. LTP is typically induced by a burst of many stimuli within a few seconds, which is thought to activate NMDA receptors and trigger a cascade of signaling events that lead to the strengthening of synaptic connections. Many stimuli spaced at exactly equal intervals over a period of minutes (choice B) is a protocol often used to induce another form of synaptic plasticity called long-term depression (LTD). Minutes of uninterrupted inhibitory stimulation (choice C) would be unlikely to induce LTP, as inhibitory signaling typically weakens synaptic connections. A simultaneous pairing of an excitatory stimulus and an inhibitory stimulus (choice D) could potentially induce a form of synaptic plasticity called spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), but this is a different process than LTP.

Producing Long-Term Potentiation of Cells in the Mammalian Nervous System