structural:reformatting, structural:expansion
Expression

One reason for the popularity of the local protein synthesis hypothesis is that it provides a possible mechanism for the specificity associated with LTP. Specifically, if indeed local protein synthesis underlies L-LTP, only dendritic spines receiving LTP-inducing stimuli will undergo LTP; the potentiation will not be propagated to adjacent synapses. By contrast, global protein synthesis that occurs in the cell body requires that proteins be shipped out to every area of the cell, including synapses that have not received LTP-inducing stimuli. Whereas local protein synthesis provides a mechanism for specificity, global protein synthesis would seem to directly compromise it. However, as discussed later, the synaptic tagging hypothesis successfully reconciles global protein synthesis, synapse specificity, and associativity.