The role of action potentials in local calcium signalling and induction of different forms of LTP

Funding Activity

Website
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/418043

Funding Status
Closed

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Funded Activity Summary

Our understanding of how the brain learns and remembers things is still limited. There is good evidence that changing the strength of the connections (synapses) between brain cells (neurons) can allow information to be stored. One type of synaptic change is called long-term potentiaton (LTP), which is a long-lasting increase in the efficacy of communication between neurons. Recently, I have described 3 different forms of LTP in a region of the brain that is known to be important for learning and memory. These forms of LTP have different persistence characteristics - LTP 1 is relatively short-lasting, LTP 2 is of intermediate duration, and LTP 3 is very long-lasting and perhaps even permanent. Each form of LTP is selectively triggered by an increase in calcium in a different part of the neuron. In the present study, I will investigate the relationships between electrical activity in different parts of the neuron in order to define the 'rules' for triggering each form of LTP. This information is important for future studies into the specific role played by each form of LTP in learning and memory processing in the brain. A better understanding of the relationship between LTP and learning and memory will assist in developing effective treatment strategies for disorders of memory, including Alzheimer s disease, addictive bahaviour, and learning disorders.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2007

End Date: 01-01-2009

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $330,691.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Central Nervous System

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

basic science | brain function | calcium signalling | electrophysiology | hippocampus | information processing and learning | long-term potentiation | memory | neurotransmission | synaptic plasticity

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