Long-Term Potentiation

Neuroplasticity is the capacity of the nervous system to modify its structure and function in response to experience, activity, injury, or environmental change. It encompasses processes at multiple scales — from molecular changes within individual synapses to large-scale cortical reorganisation — and operates throughout the lifespan, though its mechanisms and scope change with age.

A neurotransmitter is a chemical messenger used by neurons and other excitable cells. In the classical model, it is made by a neuron, released from the presynaptic terminal, crosses the synaptic cleft, and binds to receptors on a postsynaptic cell. This binding can excite the receiving cell, inhibit it, or modulate how it responds to other signals.