부산대학교 도서관

Summary: A large number of experiments have indicated that precise spike times, firing rates, and synapse locations crucially determine the dynamics of long-term plasticity induction in excitatory synapses. However, it remains unknown how plasticity mechanisms of synapses distributed along dendritic trees cooperate to produce the wide spectrum of outcomes for various plasticity protocols. Here, we propose a four-pathway plasticity framework that is well grounded in experimental evidence and apply it to a biophysically realistic cortical pyramidal neuron model. We show in computer simulations that several seemingly contradictory experimental landmark studies are consistent with one unifying set of mechanisms when considering the effects of signal propagation in dendritic trees with respect to synapse location. Our model identifies specific spatiotemporal contributions of dendritic and axo-somatic spikes as well as of subthreshold activation of synaptic clusters, providing a unified parsimonious explanation not only for rate and timing dependence but also for location dependence of synaptic changes. : Synaptic plasticity is shaped by local dynamic processes within dendritic trees. Ebner et al. present a biologically inspired plasticity rule and study its implications in a detailed model of a pyramidal cell. They provide a unified description of rate, timing, and location dependence and predict cooperative plasticity in dendrites. Keywords: compartmental modeling, synaptic plasticity, spike timing dependent plasticity (STDP), dendritic spikes, NMDA spikes, long term potentiation (LTP), long term depression (LTD), synaptic cooperativity