Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Calcium-based plasticity model explains sensitivity of synaptic changes to spike pattern, rate, and dendritic location.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Graupner, M; Brunel, N
Published in: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
March 6, 2012

Multiple stimulation protocols have been found to be effective in changing synaptic efficacy by inducing long-term potentiation or depression. In many of those protocols, increases in postsynaptic calcium concentration have been shown to play a crucial role. However, it is still unclear whether and how the dynamics of the postsynaptic calcium alone determine the outcome of synaptic plasticity. Here, we propose a calcium-based model of a synapse in which potentiation and depression are activated above calcium thresholds. We show that this model gives rise to a large diversity of spike timing-dependent plasticity curves, most of which have been observed experimentally in different systems. It accounts quantitatively for plasticity outcomes evoked by protocols involving patterns with variable spike timing and firing rate in hippocampus and neocortex. Furthermore, it allows us to predict that differences in plasticity outcomes in different studies are due to differences in parameters defining the calcium dynamics. The model provides a mechanistic understanding of how various stimulation protocols provoke specific synaptic changes through the dynamics of calcium concentration and thresholds implementing in simplified fashion protein signaling cascades, leading to long-term potentiation and long-term depression. The combination of biophysical realism and analytical tractability makes it the ideal candidate to study plasticity at the synapse, neuron, and network levels.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

Publication Date

March 6, 2012

Volume

109

Issue

10

Start / End Page

3991 / 3996

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Synaptic Transmission
  • Synapses
  • Neuronal Plasticity
  • Neocortex
  • Models, Statistical
  • Models, Biological
  • Long-Term Synaptic Depression
  • Long-Term Potentiation
  • Humans
  • Hippocampus
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Graupner, M., & Brunel, N. (2012). Calcium-based plasticity model explains sensitivity of synaptic changes to spike pattern, rate, and dendritic location. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 109(10), 3991–3996. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1109359109
Graupner, Michael, and Nicolas Brunel. “Calcium-based plasticity model explains sensitivity of synaptic changes to spike pattern, rate, and dendritic location.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109, no. 10 (March 6, 2012): 3991–96. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1109359109.
Graupner, Michael, and Nicolas Brunel. “Calcium-based plasticity model explains sensitivity of synaptic changes to spike pattern, rate, and dendritic location.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, vol. 109, no. 10, Mar. 2012, pp. 3991–96. Pubmed, doi:10.1073/pnas.1109359109.
Graupner M, Brunel N. Calcium-based plasticity model explains sensitivity of synaptic changes to spike pattern, rate, and dendritic location. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Mar 6;109(10):3991–3996.
Journal cover image

Published In

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A

DOI

EISSN

1091-6490

Publication Date

March 6, 2012

Volume

109

Issue

10

Start / End Page

3991 / 3996

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Synaptic Transmission
  • Synapses
  • Neuronal Plasticity
  • Neocortex
  • Models, Statistical
  • Models, Biological
  • Long-Term Synaptic Depression
  • Long-Term Potentiation
  • Humans
  • Hippocampus