Abstract
Two elements of neural information processing have primarily been proposed: firing rate and spike timing of neurons. In the case of synaptic plasticity, although spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) depending on presynaptic and postsynaptic spike times had been considered the most common rule, recent studies have shown the inhibitory nature of the brain in vivo for precise spike timing, which is key to the STDP. Thus, the importance of the firing frequency in synaptic plasticity in vivo has been recognized again. However, little is understood about how the frequency-dependent synaptic plasticity (FDP) is regulated in vivo. Here, we focused on the presynaptic input pattern, the intracellular calcium decay time constants, and the background synaptic activity, which vary depending on neuron types and the anatomical and physiological environment in the brain. By analyzing a calcium-based model, we found that the synaptic weight differs depending on these factors characteristic in vivo, even if neurons receive the same input rate. This finding suggests the involvement of multifaceted factors other than input frequency in FDP and even neural coding in vivo.
Highlights
Two elements of neural information processing have primarily been proposed: firing rate and spike timing of neurons
In order to clarify this problem, we examined the role of the presynaptic input pattern, the intracellular calcium decay time constants, and the background synaptic activity in frequency-dependent synaptic plasticity (FDP) by analyzing a calcium-based model, which is one of the most compatible models with experimental results[12,33]
We used a model for the FDP based on the calcium control hypothesis of Shouval et al, assuming that the change of the synaptic weight is fully determined by the postsynaptic calcium level[33,44]
Summary
Two elements of neural information processing have primarily been proposed: firing rate and spike timing of neurons. By analyzing a calcium-based model, we found that the synaptic weight differs depending on these factors characteristic in vivo, even if neurons receive the same input rate This finding suggests the involvement of multifaceted factors other than input frequency in FDP and even neural coding in vivo. In vivo characteristic factors such as the variation of the firing pattern, the difference of intracellular parameters, and internal noise have been suggested to be important for synaptic plasticity and neural c oding[20,28,29,30,31,32]. In order to clarify this problem, we examined the role of the presynaptic input pattern, the intracellular calcium decay time constants, and the background synaptic activity in frequency-dependent synaptic plasticity (FDP) by analyzing a calcium-based model, which is one of the most compatible models with experimental results[12,33]
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