Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) refers to the way in which certain
neurons, especially those in the
hippocampus, become much more sensitive to
weak stimuli after being exposed to a strong ("potentiating")
stimulus. After repeated exposure to
strong stimuli, this increased sensitivity can last for weeks or months. Because of this, LTP is believed to be relevant to the formation of
long-term memory. If so, it is of great value to the field of
cognitive science, since it provides a clear example of how a relatively simple behavior of neurons can be relevant to much more complex brain-processes. LTP is used by proponents of
connectionist models, such as
Elman, to explain how their models might actually be implemented in the
brain.