title: Making the grade with models of persistent activity.
abstract: Persistent neural activity that outlasts an initial stimulus is thought to provide a mechanism for the transient storage of memory. In this issue of Neuron, Fransén et al. identify important principles for a cell-autonomous mechanism of graded persistent firing using an elegant combination of experimental and computational approaches.
authors.affiliation: Center for Neurobiology and Behavior, Columbia University, New York, New York 10032, USA.
authors.forename: Joshua T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Dudman
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Siegelbaum
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002118:Calcium