The neural mechanisms underlying memories are thought to involve synaptic plasticity mechanisms, such as long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) of responses of neural responses to stimulation. It has been difficult to demonstrate a causal link between these synaptic processes and memory, but now Roberto Malinow and colleagues claim to have done just that in mice undergoing fear conditioning. The authors use optogenetics to isolate a specific fear memory circuit and then use LTD and LTP of that circuit to remove and reinstate the memory.
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