Neurons are greedy little creatures who want and need neural growth factor. They can get it only when enough nerve cells fire together, thus producing a large enough burst of current at the end of the presynaptic terminal, forcing nerve cells to wire together. Gangs of neurons firing together will suck up the neural growth factor in order to gain new synaptic recruits. They will even steal it from nerve cells that are not firing. It’s almost as if once they get a taste for it, they have an insatiable desire for it. Another name for neural growth factor molecules is neurotrophins. These miracle
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