Computational modeling of memory allocation in neuronal and dendritic populations

Abstract

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Recent studies using molecular and cellular approaches have established that memory is supported by distributed and sparse populations of neurons. The allocation of neurons and synapses to store a long term memory engram is not random, but depends on properties such as neuronal excitability and CREB activation. The consolidation of synaptic plasticity, which is believed to serve long-term memory storage, is dependent on protein availability, and shaped by the mechanism of synaptic tagging and capture. In addition, dendritic protein synthesis allows for compartmentalized plasticity and synapse clustering. The implications of the rules governing long-term memory allocation in neurons and their dendrites are not yet known. To this aim, we present a model that incorporates multiple plasticity-related mechanisms which are known to be active during memory allocation and consolidation. Using this model, we show that memory allocation in neurons and their dendrites is affected by dendritic protein synthesis, and that the late-LTP associativity mechanisms allow related memories to be stored in overlapping populations of neurons.

Keywords

• plasticity
• modeling
• synaptic clustering
• memory allocation
• synaptic tagging