The responses of visual cortical neurons during iontophoresis of norepinephrine (NE) were compared in kittens and adult cats. One type of neuronal "plasticity" (the ability of visual cortical neurons to have their response properties markedly altered during exposure to a restricted visual environment) normally occurs only in young kittens and has been hypothesized to depend on the presence of N...

Activity-dependent synaptic modification is critical for the development and function of the nervous system. Recent experimental discoveries suggest that both the extent and the direction of modification may depend on the precise timing of pre- and postsynaptic action potentials (spikes). This phenomenon, termed spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), provides a new, quantitative interpretati...

Synaptic plasticity underlying learning and memory has been proposed, on the basis of several experimental approaches, to be intimately related with sleep: 1) The idea that sleep contributes to stabilization of acquired memory arises from numerous studies depriving subjects or animals of sleep. 2) Evidence from developing technologies supports "offline" reprocessing of recent experiences during...

Although it is well established that people are better at recognizing own-race faces than at recognizing other-race faces, the neural mechanisms mediating this advantage are not well understood. In this study, Caucasian participants were trained to differentiate African American (or Hispanic) faces at the individual level (e.g., Joe, Bob) and to categorize Hispanic (or African American) faces a...

Neuroplasticity has replaced the formerly held position that the brain is a physiologically static organ. By actively being mindful and partaking in cognitive exercises, the brain is able to improve its functions by growing new neurons and forming new connections between existing neurons [11]. Founded in 2011 and guided by its advisory board of neuroscientists, psychologists, medical doctors an...

In this issue of Neuron, Makino and Malinow and Kleindienst et al. present evidence of a behaviorally induced form of synaptic plasticity that would encourage the development of fine-scale structured input patterns and the binding of features within single neurons.

Poverty and exposure to adversity have been linked with decreased educational success. Various environmental and neurobiological pathways have been proposed for these associations, however, existing models have several clear drawbacks. Here we outline existing models, and propose an alternate model linking exposure to adverse experiences in childhood to education success. Specifically, we propo...

Prior studies have found that functional networks can rapidly add neurons as they build short-term memories, yet little is known about the principles underlying this process. Using voltage-sensitive dye imaging, we found that short-term sensitization of Tritonia's swim motor program involves rapid expansion of the number of participating neurons. Tracking neurons across trials revealed that thi...