Opinion - LTP: perils and progress

On the thirtieth birthday of long-term potentiation (LTP), it is appropriate to step back from the fray, evaluate what has been learned and look to the future. Two of us (J. W. L. and J. R. S.) published such an evaluation a few years ago in the hope that the ignorance conferred to us by our status as outsiders to the field might be offset, at least in part, by a freshness of perspective. The responses to that article have been numerous and fascinating, with experts and non-experts raising points in private that would benefit from open discussion. Here, joined by an LTP 'insider' ( J. L.), we initiate such a discussion, restating, clarifying and debating some of the points that were raised in the original article.