How cells and circuits encode learning over time

This cluster explores how learning and memory arise from dynamic changes at synapses and surrounding support cells. Posts cover dopamine’s surprising role in instructing astrocytes to reshape neural circuits, new insights into how synapses track time in working memory, and the concept of behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity that links second-to-minute neural changes to actual behavior. They also highlight Plastic Arbor, a modern simulation framework for modeling synaptic plasticity from single synapses to full neuron networks, offering powerful tools to test theories of how experiences are written into the brain.