Translational Control Mechanisms in Long-lasting Synaptic Plasticity and Memory

Mnemonic processes are controlled by selective modification (weakening or strengthening) of connections between neurons (1–5). To understand the precise molecular mechanisms by which this remarkably complex network encodes a given episode during learning is arguably one of the major challenges in modern neuroscience (6). Two kinds of memory storage mechanisms have been described: short-term memory (STM),3 which lasts only a few minutes or hours, and long-term memory (LTM), which persists for many weeks, months, years, and even a lifetime (7).