Striatal endocannabinoids drive one-shot learning.

Striatal endocannabinoid-mediated plasticity enables one-shot learning, with eCB-LTP essential for forming memories after a single brief event.

• Why it matters: Understanding how the brain rapidly encodes memories from a single experience is crucial for insights into behavioral flexibility and adaptive learning, yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.
• What they did: The study developed a behavioral test where mice avoid sticky tape after a single contact, and used electrophysiology, modeling, and genetic tools to show that brief contacts induce eCB-LTP in the striatum, which is necessary for one-shot learning.
• The result: Disrupting eCB-LTP impairs the ability to learn from a single event, highlighting nonclassical plasticity as a key mechanism for rapid memory formation and adaptive behavior.