Membrane Channels, Conditioning-Induced Changes

Abstract

Fundamental to most mammalian learning is its associative nature—it depends on the temporal relationships of stimuli. Several years ago my colleagues and I began to uncover a biophysical record of associative learning in the relatively simple nervous system of the nudibranch mollusc Hermissenda. Very recently, clear evidence has been obtained that a similar biophysical record can be found in the mammalian brain. The same transformation of specific voltage-dependent K⁺ currents can provide a record of temporally associated stimuli on days after conditioning the rabbit as it does after conditioning Hermissenda.