Long term potentiation definition psychology (LTP) is a long lasting strengthening response of the postsynaptic nerve cell when the stimulation athwart the synapse which occurs in repeated stimulation. It involves the long term and learning memory. This is also the capacity of brain cells to hold on how recurrent they deliver signals in some brain cells. Aside from that, it is an everlasting improvement in transmitting signals in the middle of two neurons that usually results from stimulating them synchronously.
This is one of the phenomena’s that is underlying in synaptic plasticity wherein the chemical synaptic has the capacity to alter their strength. When the memories are being encoded through the modification of synaptic strength, the long term potentiation is officially well thought-out as one of the main cellular mechanisms which bring about memory and learning. Actually, this was discovered in the rabbit hippocampus in 1966 by Terje Lomo. The latest long term potentiation is looking for a better understanding in its basic biology.
But, some people intend to sketch the fundamental link in the middle of behavioral learning and long term potentiation. There are also some individuals who improve the systems and pharmacologic of LTP memory and learning. Long term potentiation comes out in various neural structures such as cerebellum, cerebral cortex, and amygdale.
According to Malenka, Robert, a well-known long term potentiation researcher, LTP might exist in the entire excitatory synapse which is located in the mammalian brain. LTP is actually composed of several properties and these are:
Cooperativity
The long term potentiation is also brought through the powerful titanic stimulation of the single passageway up to the synapse. Whilst one pathway in the synapse is being stimulated weakly, it is possible that it will generate inadequate postsynaptic depolarization in inducing the long term potentiation. When the weak stimuli are already applied to several pathways which come together in a single patch of postsynaptic membrane, this will be the time that the created postsynaptic depolarization will group the depolarized postsynaptic cell. This group will induce the long term potentiation.
Input Specificity
When the long term potentiation is induced, the first synapse of the LTP will never spread in some synapses. This is only disseminated only to the synapses that are stated from the rules of cooperativity and associativity. But, the specificity input of LTP might get incomplete in short distances. Morris and Frey explain that input specificity of LTP in 1997, and this was officially called the capture hypothesis and synaptic tagging.
Persistence
The long term potentiation is truly persistent. It can also last for months and the persistence will divide itself into the other forms of synaptic plastics.
Associativity
It refers to the observation which when the weal stimulation of single passageway is inadequate in the induction of long term potentiation, the powerful stimulation will be synchronized to another passageway. That’s why the LTP will induce those pathways.
These are the things that you should learn and understand about long term potentiation. You may seek for more information about it by using the internet or you can talk about it with the experts.