Molecular kinetic modelling of associative learning.

Three molecular (enzyme) kinetic models have been designed that exhibit the basic properties of associative learning (classical conditioning). The enzyme systems are acted upon by an 'unconditioned' and a 'conditioned' ligand: temporally paired application of the two ligands leads to covalent enzyme modification, which serves as 'memory trace'. The behaviour of the systems has been investigated by computer simulation. Although the models are hypothetic, they do not contain biochemically inconceivable steps. The models demonstrate that already fairly simple molecular events may produce the phenomenology of associative learning.