ReviewNPJ science of learning2019
Is plasticity of synapses the mechanism of long-term memory storage?
Review in NPJ science of learning, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 148 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
148 citing papers in PubMed, 374 citations in OpenAlex.
- Restoration of Neuronal Metabolism and Memory in Alzheimer's Disease by Reprogramming the Exosomal microRNA Network.Journal of molecular neuroscience : MN · 2026Review
- Memory encoding reprograms neuronal transcriptional responses via durable chromatin remodeling.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Remembering the "when": Hebbian memory models for the time of past events.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- How Neuromorphic Microstructures Control In Vitro Early-Stage Neuronal Outgrowth.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Insulin resistance and epilepsy: an emerging pathophysiological nexus.Metabolic brain disease · 2026Review
- High-fat diet attenuates estradiol's efficacy on cognitive function and hippocampal synaptic plasticity in middle-aged ovariectomized mice.Physiological reports · 2026Article
- Reductionism in Engram Neuroscience.The European journal of neuroscience · 2026Review
- Transcriptional and functional profiles of muscarinic receptor-expressing neurons in primate lateral prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortices.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Habituation and sensitization learning in adult solitary ascidians.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Chronic Pain and Cognitive Dysfunction: Clinical Implement, Mechanism, and Therapeutic Strategy.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026Review
- Targeting neuroplasticity in old brain: restoring synapse with cognitive strategies.Biogerontology · 2026Review
- Plastic Arbor: A modern simulation framework for synaptic plasticity-From single synapses to networks of morphological neurons.PLoS computational biology · 2026Article
- Immediate post-injury HMGB1 neutralization prevents synaptic dysfunction in burn and hindlimb unloaded rats.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- The how and why for multiple forms of hippocampal LTP.Frontiers in synaptic neuroscience · 2026Review
- Article
- Early intrinsic excitability plasticity of neocortical engram neurons defines memory formation and precision.Nature communications · 2025Article
- Astrocyte-Mediated Plasticity: Multi-Scale Mechanisms Linking Synaptic Dynamics to Learning and Memory.Cells · 2025Review
- BDNF Signaling in Glutamatergic Neurons During Long-Term Potentiation (LTP): A Spatio-Temporal Exploration of Events.Molecular neurobiology · 2025Review
- Review
- Tau PET Burden Is Associated With Hippocampal Microstructure and Episodic Memory in Amyloid Positive Older Adults.Hippocampus · 2025Article
88 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
It has been 70 years since Donald Hebb published his formalized theory of synaptic adaptation during learning. Hebb's seminal work foreshadowed some of the great neuroscientific discoveries of the following decades, including the discovery of long-term potentiation and other lasting forms of synaptic plasticity, and more recently the residence of memories in synaptically connected neuronal assemblies. Our understanding of the processes underlying learning and memory has been dominated by the view that synapses are the principal site of information storage in the brain. This view has received substantial support from research in several model systems, with the vast majority of studies on the topic corroborating a role for synapses in memory storage. Yet, despite the neuroscience community's best efforts, we are still without conclusive proof that memories reside at synapses. Furthermore, an increasing number of non-synaptic mechanisms have emerged that are also capable of acting as memory substrates. In this review, we address the key findings from the synaptic plasticity literature that make these phenomena such attractive memory mechanisms. We then turn our attention to evidence that questions the reliance of memory exclusively on changes at the synapse and attempt to integrate these opposing views.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.