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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Preparation of Aplysia Sensory-motor Neuronal Cell Cultures
Published on: June 8, 2009
Morphological aspects of synaptic plasticity in Aplysia. An anatomical substrate for long-term memory
1Department of Anatomy, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, New York.
Abstract:
The morphological basis of long-term sensitization of the gill-and-siphon withdrawal reflex in Aplysia was explored by examining the structure of identified sensory neuron synapses in control and behaviorally modified animals. Following long-term training, sensitized animals displayed an increase in the number of sensory neuron synapses compared to control animals. The relative permanence of these structural changes and their similarity in time course to the behavioral duration of sensitization suggest a role for synapse number changes during long-term memory.
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