Mechanisms and Assessment of Hippocampal-Dependent Learning and Memory in Rodents

摘要

Learning is the process by which new information is acquired; whereas memory is the process by which that knowledge is retained and retrieved. The hippocampus is part of the limbic system and it is now well established that this structure plays an integral role in the consolidation of declarative memory, as well as context-dependent and spatial learning processes. It is generally accepted that the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the processes of learning and memory formation include various forms of structural and functional (i.e., synaptic) plasticity involving neuronal networks that are activated during learning. Of note, the two functional forms of synaptic plasticity, namely long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), were first discovered to occur in the hippocampus