abstractstudies of the mechanisms underlying memory formation have largely focused on the 
 synapse . 
 however , recent evidence suggests that additional , non - synaptic , mechanisms also 
 play important roles in this process . 
 we recently described a novel memory mechanism 
 whereby a particular class of neurons was recruited into the tritonia 
 escape swim network with sensitization , a non - associative form of learning . 
 neurons that 
 in the nave state were loosely - affiliated with the network were rapidly recruited 
 in , transitioning from variably bursting ( vb ) to reliably bursting ( rb ) . 
 even after the 
 memory had faded some new neurons remained , and some original members had left , leaving 
 the network in an altered state . 
 further , we identified a candidate cellular mechanism 
 underlying these network changes . 
 our study supports the view that brain networks may have 
 surprisingly fluid functional structures and adds to the growing body of evidence that 
 non - synaptic mechanisms often operate synergistically with changes at the synapse to 
 mediate memory formation .