Cellular analysis of long-term habituation of the gill-withdrawal reflex of Aplysia californica.

Long-term habituation training in Aplysia californica produces a profound depression in the efficacy of synaptic transmission between mechanoreceptor neurons and gill motor neurons. This depression persists for more than 3 weeks. Thus a critical synaptic site for plasticity underlying long-term habituation is the same as that for short-term habituation. For this simple form of learning, short- and long-term memory share a common locus and aspects of a common mechanism: synaptic depression.