In many neural networks, mechanisms of compensatory plasticity respond to prolonged reductions in neural activity by increasing cellular excitability or synaptic strength. In the respiratory control system, a prolonged reduction in synaptic inputs to the phrenic motor pool elicits a TNF-α- and atypical PKC-dependent form of spinal plasticity known as inactivity-induced phrenic motor facilitatio...

1. Most individuals with chronic tinnitus have highfrequency hearing loss, induced by noise exposure, otological disease, or the aging process. Physiological evidence suggests that in such individuals, tinnitus is likely caused not by irritative processes that persist in the ear after cochlear injury, but by changes that occur in central auditory pathways when the ear is partly disconnected fro...

The effect of the synaptic plasticity on the dynamics of a large neural network is studied. Our approach is analytic but inspired by the data, both simulated and experimental. We explain formation of the small strongly connected assemblies within a dynamical network following Hebb's rule. Also, we find the conditions for the synchrony effect in the stochastic network in the absence of large syn...

Long-term potentiation (LTP) is a well-characterized form of synaptic plasticity that fulfils many of the criteria for a neural correlate of memory. LTP has been studied in a variety of animal models and, in rodents in particular, there is now a strong body of evidence demonstrating common underlying molecular mechanisms in LTP and memory. Results are beginning to emerge from studies of neural ...

Neural plasticity plays a critical role in learning, memory, and recovery from injury to the nervous system. Although much is known about the physical and physiological determinants of plasticity, little is known about the influence of cognitive factors. In this study, we investigated whether selective attention plays a role in modifying changes in neural excitability reflecting long-term poten...

The probability of choosing an alternative in a long sequence of repeated choices is proportional to the total reward derived from that alternative, a phenomenon known as Herrnstein's matching law. This behavior is remarkably conserved across species and experimental conditions, but its underlying neural mechanisms still are unknown. Here, we propose a neural explanation of this empirical law o...

This issue begins a new incarnation of the Journal ofNeural Transplantation and Plasticity (JNTP). New journals, new editorships, and major changes are often the occasion for the writing of editorials; this time, it is a new editorship and a clarification of purpose. With this issue, JNTP is re-dedicated to the publication of high-quality studies of neural transplantation and plasticity. JNTP w...

ever-changing manner. The effect of a signal transmitted synaptically from one neuron to another can vary enormously, depending on the recent history of activity at either or both sides of the synapse, and such variations can last from milliseconds to months. Activity-dependent changes in synaptic transmission arise from a large number of mechanisms known collectively as synaptic plasticity. Sy...