long–term potentiation

:  a long-lasting strengthening of the response of a postsynaptic nerve cell to stimulation across the synapse that occurs with repeated stimulation and is thought to be related to learning and long-term memory First they repeatedly stimulated hippocampal neurons with an electric current and showed that long-term potentiation had taken place: the neurons were more sensitive to later stimulation, even an hour or more later, and more likely to transmit electric signals to their neighbors.—Discover, June 1995—abbreviation LTP