The Epigenetics of Neural Learning

Learning, which involves neural plasticity and memory, is manifest at many levels of biological organization: at the single-cell level, at the level of local cell assemblies, and at the system level of dedicated structures such as the hippocampus in mammals. This chapter reviews recent data that focus on the intracellular level and the intercellular synapse-mediated level in the nervous system, showing that several interacting epigenetic mechanisms underlie learning and plasticity. On the basis of the survey of the literature, it shows that there are consistent correlations between global changes in epigenetic regulation and the capacity for learning. The chapter suggests that learning dynamics may be reflected by cumulative epigenetic changes at the neuron level. It discusses the implications of epigenetic mechanisms for the study of the inheritance and evolution of learning. The intracellular epigenetic factors and mechanisms are related to the intercellular neural communication that takes place across the synapses that connect neurons.