The neuroscientific reduction of long-term potentiation to molecular cascades counts as genuine reduction despite no conceptual path from 'memory consolidation' to 'AMPA receptor phosphorylation'.

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AMPA receptor phosphorylation(as used in neuroscience): A specific chemical change to proteins on brain cell surfaces that helps strengthen connections between cells; a technical description of one step in memory formation.
Conceptual path(as used in philosophy of science and epistemology): A logical connection or chain of reasoning that links one idea to another—the ability to understand how one concept leads to or explains another.
Genuine reduction(as used in philosophy of science): A 'true' or legitimate explanation where complex things are fully explained by their simpler components, rather than a fake or incomplete explanation.
Long-term potentiation(as used in neuroscience): A biological process where connections between brain cells become stronger over time, which is thought to be how memories are stored in the brain.
Molecular cascades(as used in neuroscience): A chain reaction of chemical events inside cells, where one molecule triggers another, which triggers another, like dominoes falling—this is how cells respond to signals.
reduction / reductionism(as a philosophical method of explanation): The idea that something complex can be fully explained by breaking it down into smaller, simpler parts—like trying to understand a person completely by just studying their biology.

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