In: Psychology
What mechanisms are responsible for the maintenance and expression of Long Term Potentiation?
Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.
(Answer) Long-Term Potentiation or LPT takes place when the synapses of the brain are strengthened. When such synaptic activities occur continuously, they produce patterns of long-lasting increase in the transmission of signals between two neurons.
The N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor is a glutamate receptor and ion channel protein found in nerve cells. These receptors are basically responsible for bringing about such an effect in the neurons. An example of LPT is when a lab-rat is put in a murky pool of water, it will swim until it finds a platform where it will find safety from the waters. If this experiment is repeated, the mice will find the platform sooner because their neurons are used to the synaptic patterns since it has occurred before. These patterns get stored in their long-term memory in the temporal lobe.