The
hippocampus as a decision-maker
Hippocampal
NMDA receptors in the brain help to make the right decision when faced with
complex orientation problems
July 16,
2012
Synapses
are modified through learning. Up until now, scientists believed that a
particular form of synaptic plasticity in the brain’s hippocampus was
responsible for learning spatial relations. This was based on a receptor type
for the neurotransmitter glutamate: the NMDA receptor. Researchers at the Max
Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg and Oxford University have
now observed that mice develop a spatial memory, even when the NMDA
receptor-transmitted plasticity is switched off in parts of their hippocampus.
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