Black I B, Adler J E, Dreyfus C F, Friedman W F, LaGamma E F, Roach A H
Science. 1987 Jun 5;236(4806):1263-8. doi: 10.1126/science.2884727.
The use of molecular biological approaches has defined new mechanisms that store information in the mammalian nervous system. Environmental stimuli alter steady-state levels of messenger RNA species encoding neurotransmitters, thereby altering synaptic, neuronal, and network function over time. External or internal stimuli alter impulse activity, which alters membrane depolarization and selectively changes the expression of specific transmitter genes. These processes occur in diverse peripheral and central neurons, suggesting that information storage is widespread in the neuraxis. The temporal profile of any particular molecular mnemonic process is determined by specific kinetics of turnover and by the geometry of the neuron resulting in axonal transport of molecules to different synaptic arrays at different times. Generally, transmitters, the agents of millisecond-to-millisecond communication, are subject to relatively long-lasting changes in expression, ensuring that ongoing physiological function is translated into information storage.
分子生物学方法的应用已经明确了在哺乳动物神经系统中存储信息的新机制。环境刺激会改变编码神经递质的信使RNA种类的稳态水平，从而随着时间的推移改变突触、神经元和网络功能。外部或内部刺激会改变冲动活动，进而改变膜去极化并选择性地改变特定递质基因的表达。这些过程发生在各种外周和中枢神经元中，这表明信息存储在神经轴中广泛存在。任何特定分子记忆过程的时间特征由周转的特定动力学以及神经元的几何结构决定，导致分子在不同时间向不同突触阵列进行轴突运输。一般来说，作为毫秒到毫秒通信媒介的递质，其表达会发生相对持久的变化，确保正在进行的生理功能转化为信息存储。
