Fig. 2.

Anomalous associations and psychotic experiences. (A) Learning associations between 2 time-variable signals require tight temporal coordination (Hebbian window), shown as a narrow interval between the activation of pre- and postsynaptic neurons in the first illustration. This window can be prolonged in hyperdopaminergic states, as shown in the lower panel. (B) Anomalous bursts of presynaptic activity can lead to inadvertent Hebbian associations. (C) Failure of habituation may lead to prolonged states of evoked activity, increasing the probability of Hebbian associations.