Modeling of synaptic plasticity via correlated pre- and postsynaptic activity

It has been demonstrated that correlated activity at 5 Hz can induce either LTP or LTD, depending on the precise timing of pre- and postsynaptic activity, and a time window for LTP that exists on the activated pathway is flanked by two time windows for LTD. In this paper, our previous model of activity-dependent synaptic modification is applied to a model neuron with two spines on the dendrite and by computer simulations, we examine such synaptic modifications, varying the timing between excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) and backpropagated action potentials (Aps). Simulation results show that GABAergic inputs play an important role in the appearance of two flanked LTD time windows and regulate the polarity of synaptic modifications according to pattern of postsynaptic Ca²⁺ concentration via the interval between pre- and postsynaptic activity.