Question

What is the difference between synaptic facilitation and behavioral sensitization?

1) Synaptic facilitation is a short term response and behavioral sensitization is a long term response.
2) Synaptic facilitation is related to the sensory system and behavioral sensitization is related to the motor system.
3) Synaptic facilitation underlies behavioral sensitization.
4) They are both fundamentally the same thing.
5) Synaptic facilitation depresses the stimulation, and behavioral sensitization sensitizes it.

Answer 1

Synaptic facilitation is a transient increase in synaptic strength, while behavioral sensitization is a prolonged enhancement of a behavioral response following repeated stimuli. Synaptic facilitation contributes to, but is not equivalent to, behavioral sensitization.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer to the student's question is that synaptic facilitation underlies behavioral sensitization, which is option 3. These two phenomena relate to the changes in neural transmission and behavior following repeated stimuli, but they occur on different scales and durations within the nervous system. Synaptic facilitation is a short-term increase in synaptic strength that happens following repeated stimulation.

It typically lasts for seconds to minutes and involves the accumulation of neurotransmitter in the synaptic cleft or an increase in the neurotransmitter's effectiveness, leading to a transient increase in postsynaptic response. Behavioral sensitization, on the other hand, refers to a longer-lasting increase in the strength and persistence of a behavioral response following repeated exposure to a stimulus.