Second, consistent with my reformulation of Cajal’s theory and my earlier work with analogs, we found that a given set of synaptic connections between two neurons can be modified in opposite ways—strengthened or weakened—by different forms of learning. Thus, habituation weakens the synapse, whereas sensitization or classical conditioning strengthens it. These enduring changes in the strength of synaptic connections are the cellular mechanisms underlying learning and short-term memory. Moreover, because the changes occur at several sites in the neural circuitry of the gill-withdrawal reflex,
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