A unified model of NMDA receptor-dependent bidirectional synaptic plasticity
- Harel Z. Shouval*,†,
- Mark F. Bear*,‡,§, and
- Leon N Cooper*,‡,¶
- *Institute for Brain and Neural Systems, Departments of¶ Physics and ‡Neuroscience, and§ Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912
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Contributed by Leon N Cooper
Abstract
Synapses in the brain are bidirectionally modifiable, but the routes of induction are diverse. In various experimental paradigms, N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor-dependent long-term depression and long-term potentiation have been induced selectively by varying the membrane potential of the postsynaptic neurons during presynaptic stimulation of a constant frequency, the rate of presynaptic stimulation, and the timing of pre- and postsynaptic action potentials. In this paper, we present a mathematical embodiment of bidirectional synaptic plasticity that is able to explain diverse induction protocols with a fixed set of parameters. The key assumptions and consequences of the model can be tested experimentally; further, the model provides the foundation for a unified theory of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor-dependent synaptic plasticity.
Footnotes
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↵ † To whom reprint requests should be addressed at: Box 1843, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912. E-mail: hzs{at}cns.brown.edu.
- Abbreviations:
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LTD, long-term depression
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LTP, long-term potentiation
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NMDA, N-methyl-d-aspartate
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NMDAR, NMDA receptor
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STDP, spike timing-dependent plasticity
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EPSP, excitatory postsynaptic potential
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BPAP, back-propagating action potentials
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- Copyright © 2002, The National Academy of Sciences
