The neurons of the central nervous system not only have the capacity to transmit, inhibit and
weigh information, but they may also store information for prolonged periods of time (eg by
use-dependent change in synaptic strength). Synaptic plasticity in hippocampus is an
extensively studied cellular model of learning and memory and recent studies suggest that
similar mechanisms also apply to pain pathways and may account for some forms of
hyperalgesia, allodynia and analgesia. The discovery of synaptic longterm plasticity in …