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Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science pp 1–2Cite as

Long-Term Potentiation

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Definition

Long-term potentiation refers to the persistent increase in synaptic strength following high-frequency stimulation of a chemical synapse.

Introduction

Long-term potentiation of synaptic transmission is a major mechanism for investigating learning and memory in the synaptic level. It is found in several regions of the brain, with the most prominent being the hippocampus thus its obvious involvement in the neural basis of some forms of memory Cooke & Bliss (2006).

Properties of Long-Term Potentiation

High frequency stimulation causes an increase in the efficiency of synaptic transmission, therefore enhancing the efficiency of the signal. For the induction of long-term potentiation, the activation of excitatory receptors is required Cooke & Bliss (2006). Bliss and Collingridge (1993) reported on the properties of long-term potentiation that differentiates it from other forms of synaptic plasticity: input specificity (it does not spread to other synapses), associativity(when a...

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References

  • Bliss, T. V., & Collingridge, G. L. (1993). A synaptic model of memory: Long-term potentiation in the hippocampus. Nature, 361(6407), 31.

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  • Cooke, S. F., & Bliss, T. V. P. (2006). Plasticity in the human central nervous system. Brain, 129(7), 1659–1673.

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  • Morris, R., Anderson, E., Lynch, G., & Baudry, M. (1986). Selective impairment of learning and blockade of long-term potentiation by an N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor antagonist, AP5. Nature, 319, 774–776. https://doi.org/10.1038/319774a0.

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  • Post, R. M. (2007). Kindling and sensitization as models for affective episode recurrence, cyclicity, and tolerance phenomena. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 31(6), 858–873.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Androulla Ioannou & Xenia Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous

Authors
  1. Androulla Ioannou
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  2. Xenia Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xenia Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

  2. Rochester, Michigan, USA

    Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Nicosia, Nicosia, Cyprus

    Menelaos Apostolou

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Ioannou, A., Anastassiou-Hadjicharalambous, X. (2018). Long-Term Potentiation. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1033-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_1033-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-16999-6

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