One of my favorite papers on the subject, from a colleague's lab: "Unstable neurons underlie a stable learned behavior" https://static1.squarespace.com/static

One of my favorite papers on the subject, from a colleague's lab: "Unstable neurons underlie a stable learned behavior" https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5859e85dd2b8571a0a859309/t/586c5066e58c624be9ff2165/1483493485348/nn.4405.pdf https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5859e85dd2b8571a0a859... >Motor skills can be maintained for decades, but the biological basis of this memory persistence remains largely unknown. The zebra finch, for example, sings a highly stereotyped song that is stable for years, but it is not known whether the precise neural patterns underlying song are stable or shift from day to day. Here we demonstrate that the population of projection neurons coding for song in the premotor nucleus, HVC, change from day to day. The most dramatic shifts occur over intervals of sleep. In contrast to the transient participation of excitatory neurons, ensemble measurements dominated by inhibition persist unchanged even after damage to downstream motor nerves. Brain circuitry truly is amazing. The connectome is vital to the function of the brain, and slight perturbations can severely damage that function; however, the connectome can change over night even in the context of precise motor skills. It's a sort of Catch-22.