今世紀に入りはや10年以上が経った.この間,これま で解剖学,生理学,心理学など個別に発展してきた研究分 野の学際的融合が飛躍的に進み,まさに「脳の世紀」と呼 ばれるに相応しい研究成果が出始めている.特に機能的 MRIや2光子顕微鏡イメージング,蛍光プローブおよび 画像解析技術等の革新的な進化等によって,我々ヒトや生 きた動物の脳の活動や構造を直接観察できるようになり, 現在,国内外で脳の活動や神経細胞どうしの連絡様式を網 羅的に解析しようという大型プロジェクトが進んでいる. また,認知症などの脳高次機能障害や統合失調症・自閉症 等の発症メカニズムの解明や治療法および予防法の確立に 対する社会的なデマンドが高まっている.このような脳・ 神経科学への理解が進むなかで,一般の方々および専門家 の両者にとって中心的な興味対象であるものの一つとして “記憶”があげられる.記憶はどのように形成...

Synaptic plasticity has a central role in nearly all models of learning and memory. Besides experiments documenting changes in synaptic function during learning, most of the evidence supporting a role for synaptic plasticity in memory comes from manipulations that either enhance or lesion synaptic processes. In the last decade, mouse transgenetics (knock outs and transgenics) have provided comp...

It has traditionally been thought that performance in two-interval frequency discrimination tasks decreases as the range over which the standard tone varies is increased. Recent empirical evidence and a reexamination of previous results suggest that this may not be the case. The present experiment found that performance was significantly better when the standard roved over a wide range (1500 Hz...

In neuroscience, learning and memory are usually associated with long-term changes in neuronal connectivity. this context, synaptic plasticity refers to the set of mechanisms driving dynamic...

Plasticity is a fundamental property of neuronal circuits, allowing them to adapt alterations in activation. Generally speaking, plasticity has been viewed from ‘neuron-centric’ perspective, with changes circuit function attributed excitability, synaptic strength or connectivity. However, it now clear that glial cells, particular astrocytes, are key regulators plasticity. This article reviews r...

....................................................................................................... 7 ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................. 9 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 11 Neuronal plasticity ......................................................