Extending the effects of spike-timing-dependent plasticity to behavioral timescales

doi:10.1073/pnas.0600676103

Extending the effects of spike-timing-dependent plasticity to behavioral timescales

Patrick J. Drew*,^† and
L. F. Abbott^‡

*Neurobiology Section, Division of Biology, University of California at San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093-0357; and
^‡Center of Neurobiology and Behavior, Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Kolb Research Annex, 1051 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10032-2695

Edited by Charles F. Stevens, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, and approved April 19, 2006 (received for review January 26, 2006)

Abstract

Activity-dependent modification of synaptic strengths due to spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) is sensitive to correlations between pre- and postsynaptic firing over timescales of tens of milliseconds. Temporal associations typically encountered in behavioral tasks involve times on the order of seconds. To relate the learning of such temporal associations to STDP, we must account for this large discrepancy in timescales. We show that the gap between synaptic and behavioral timescales can be bridged if the stimuli being associated generate sustained responses that vary appropriately in time. Synapses between neurons that fire this way can be modified by STDP in a manner that depends on the temporal ordering of events separated by several seconds even though the underlying plasticity has a much smaller temporal window.

Footnotes

^†To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: pjdrew{at}ucsd.edu
Author contributions: P.J.D. and L.F.A. designed research, performed research, and wrote the paper.
Conflict of interest statement: No conflicts declared.
This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
Abbreviations:

Abbreviations:

STDP,

spike-timing-dependent plasticity;

CS,

conditioned stimulus;

US,

unconditioned stimulus;

LTP,

long-term potentiation;

LTD,

long-term depression
Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.