Neuronal memory allocation

<p>Memory allocation is a process that determines which specific <a href="/facts/Synapses/vdMRJCUn">synapses</a> and <a href="/facts/Neurons/G7CyTVdH">neurons</a> in a neural network will store a given memory.  Although multiple neurons can receive a stimulus, only a subset of the neurons will induce the necessary plasticity for memory encoding. The selection of this subset of neurons is termed neuronal allocation. Similarly, multiple synapses can be activated by a given set of inputs, but specific mechanisms determine which synapses actually go on to encode the memory, and this process is referred to as synaptic allocation. Memory allocation was first discovered in the lateral amygdala by <a href="/facts/Sheena_Josselyn/XtUkljSI">Sheena Josselyn</a> and colleagues in <a href="/facts/Alcino_J._Silva/GhFqzP3J">Alcino J. Silva</a>'s laboratory.
</p><p>At the neuronal level, cells with higher levels of excitability (for example lower slow afterhyperpolarization) are more likely to be recruited into a memory trace, and substantial evidence exists implicating the cellular transcription factor <a href="/facts/CREB/ug1kE9j0">CREB</a> (cyclic AMP responsive element-binding protein) in this process. Certain synapses on recruited neurons are more likely to undergo an enhancement of synaptic strength (known as <a href="/facts/Long-term_potentiation/AbuJmBeo">Long-term potentiation</a> (LTP)) and proposed mechanisms that might contribute to allocation at the synaptic level include <a href="/facts/Synaptic_tagging/VJlDnhRG">synaptic tagging</a>, capture, and synaptic clustering.
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Neuronal memory allocation open-in-new

Neuronal memory allocation