Processes of functional plasticity such as hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) are regarded as cellular mechanisms underlying learning and memory formation. LTP and LTD are used as suitable models for the investigation of the latter processes. During the last decades LTP was intensively investigated. However, less is known about LTD and its relation to learni...

BACKGROUND The aim of the present study was to evaluate the validity, reliability and responsiveness of a Swedish translation of the Quality of Life in Late-Stage Dementia (QUALID) Scale. METHOD A total of 169 elderly residents at 19 dementia special care units in eight long-term care facilities in the Gothenburg city region participated in the study. Assessments were made by 107 proxy inform...

Recent biological experimental findings have shown that synaptic plasticity depends on the relative timing of pre- and post-synaptic spikes and this is called spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP). Many authors have claimed that a precise balance between long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) of STDP is crucial in the storage of spatio-temporal patterns. Some authors hav...

Experimentally studies have shown that visual cortical neurons apply BCM (Binenstock Cooper and Munro) learning rule for modifications in synaptic strength. BCM rule uses adaptive threshold and in this both long term potentiation (LTP) and long term depression (LTD) is automatically taken care of. This overcomes the major disadvantage of Hebbian learning in which there is a mechanism only for L...

As suggested by Palop and Mucke (2010) pathologically elevated β-amyloid (Aβ) impairs long term potentiation (LTP) and enhances long term depression (LTD) possible underlying mechanisms in Alzheimer's Disease (AD). In the present paper we adopt and further elaborate a phenomenological computational model of bidirectional plasticity based on the calcium control hypothesis of Shouval et al. (2002...

Long-term potentiation (LTP) of synaptic transmission is a favored neural model for learning and memory. In isolated slices of rat prelimbic cortex, glutamatergic activation of metabotropic receptors (mGluRs) is required for the production of LTP at synapses on layer V neurons. Group I mGluRs are found in neocortex, and in prelimbic cortex they have been located on layer V neurons. We have now ...

Dendritic spines are small protrusions that serve as the major site of excitatory synaptic transmission in the brain. The shape and density of spines can be affected by numerous factors, including developmental stage, experimental preparation, temperature, exposure to enriched environments, and neuronal pathology. In addition, physiological models of learning, including long-term potentiation (...

A validity test was conducted to determine how care level-based nurse-to-resident ratios compare with actual daily care times per resident in Germany. Stability across different long-term care facilities was tested. Care level-based nurse-to-resident ratios were compared with the standard minimum nurse-to-resident ratios. Levels of care are determined by classification authorities in long-term ...

Long-term care demographic and industry trends challenge provision of effective care and infection prevention. A systematic review was conducted to identify and evaluate cost estimates reported in the scientific literature of structure and processes intended to prevent infection among residents and staff of long-term care facilities (LTCFs). The small volume of publications regarding cost of in...

The need for long-term care (LTC) represents a “new social risk,” one that overlaps with and complements systems of care that pre-date such programs, complicating LTC program design. This commentary expands on Ikegami’s discussion of how these structural factors must be accommodated, as well as historical and cultural factors that influence public expectations of such a...