Editing Short-term memory (section)

== Synaptic theory ==
Various researchers have proposed that stimuli are coded in short-term memory using transmitter depletion.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Grossberg |first1=S. |year=1971 |title=Pavlovian pattern learning by nonlinear neural networks |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=68 |issue=4 |pages=828–31 |bibcode=1971PNAS...68..828G |doi=10.1073/pnas.68.4.828 |pmc=389053 |pmid=4323791 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mongillo |first1=G. |last2=Barak |first2=O. |last3=Tsodyks |first3=M. |year=2008 |title=Synaptic theory of working memory |journal=Science |volume=319 |issue=5869 |pages=1543–6 |bibcode=2008Sci...319.1543M |doi=10.1126/science.1150769 |pmid=18339943 |s2cid=46288502}}</ref> According to this hypothesis, a stimulus activates a spatial pattern of activity across neurons in a brain region. As these neurons fire, the available neurotransmitters are depleted. This depletion pattern represents stimulus information and functions as a memory trace. The memory trace decays over time as a consequence of neurotransmitter reuptake mechanisms that restore neurotransmitters to prior levels.