User:Jtwsaddress42/Quotes/Black, Ira B. 1986a

Mnemonic Plasticity To Memory "'Memory must involve the alteration of neuronal function and therefore requires plasticity, a change in state with experience. Moreover, mnemonic plasticity is characterized by (a) codification within the neuron, (b) short onset, (c) long-lasting effects, (d) specificity, (e) a high degree of precision, (f) enhanced effects with repetition, and (g) alteration of neuronal function. Further mechanisms must allow for decay, or the phenomena of forgetting... In fact, neurotransmitter functions, the agents of synaptic communication, undergo relatively long-term changes in response to brief experimental stimuli, and most definitely alter behavior.  Transmitters and associated regulatory molecules encode, store, and express environmental information in a highly precise manner, thereby exhibiting mnemonic characteristics. Transmitter metabolism and even phenotypic expression are altered by discrete environmental stimuli. Relatively brief environmental events evoke long-lasting alterations in transmitter function, providing the temporal amplification that is central to mnemonic phenomena (Black 1984). Transmitter metabolism and physiologic effects are precisely governed by specific regulatory molecules, many of which respond to environmental stimuli in a pattern characteristic of memory.' - Ira B. Black"