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Abstract:
It is thought that remembering depends on the interaction between nerve cells. More precisely, it is thought that the change in the strength of synaptic connections allows for information storage. However, we are only beginning to know the actual molecular processes and mechanisms underlying the formation and storage of memories. For this reason, the finding that lasting changes in the efficacy of synaptic transmission as well as the acquisition of certain learning tasks depended on the synthesis of new protein was a landmark for the study of memory (Goelet et al. 1986). For a long time, it has been thought that this would exclusively occur in the cell body of the respective nerve cells. Recent evidence, however, suggests that targeting of certain messenger RNAs (mRNA) to synapses and subsequent local synthesis of proteins may represent another fundamental mechanism in generating lasting synaptic changes in the nervous system.
