Does the Engram of Kindling Model the Engram of Normal Long Term Memory?

Abstract

SUMMARY: The kindling effect is a relatively permanent alteration in brain function which results from repeated electrical or chemical stimulation and culminates in the appearance of electrographic and behavioral convulsions whenever the original stimulus is reapplied. The effect results from tetanic activation in the anterior cortex, limbic system or associated areas of the adult mammalian brain, and the lasting alterations are transynaptic and quite widespread. They are based in part on synaptic facilitation, and they are accompanied by specific alterations in normal behavior. In these and other respects, kindling is analogous to normal learning. It is possible that the stored component (engram) of kindling involves the same physiological mechanism as the engram of normal long term memory. Morphological study of identified synapses has not provided conclusive evidence for an anatomical substrate of kindling, but physiological experiments demonstrate a lasting potentiation of the excitatory postsynaptic potential.