scholarly journals Pre- and postsynaptically expressed spiking-timing-dependent plasticity contribute differentially to neuronal learning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz E. P. Mizusaki ◽  
Sally S. Y. Li ◽  
Rui Ponte Costa ◽  
P. Jesper Sjöström

AbstractA plethora of experimental studies have shown that long-term plasticity can be expressed pre- or postsynaptically depending on a range of factors such as developmental stage, synapse type, and activity patterns. The functional consequences of this diversity are unknown. However, in models of neuronal learning, long-term synaptic plasticity is implemented as changes in connective weights. Whereas postsynaptic expression of plasticity predominantly affects synaptic response amplitude, presynaptic expression alters both synaptic response amplitude and short-term dynamics. In other words, the consideration of long-term plasticity as a fixed change in amplitude corresponds more closely to post- than to presynaptic expression, which means theoretical outcomes based on this choice of implementation may have a postsynaptic bias. To explore the functional implications of the diversity of expression of long-term synaptic plasticity, we modelled spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) such that it was expressed either pre- or postsynaptically, or both. We tested pair-based standard STDP models and a biologically tuned triplet STDP model, and investigated the outcome in a feed-forward setting, with two different learning schemes: either inputs were triggered at different latencies, or a subset of inputs were temporally correlated. Across different STDP models and learning paradigms, we found that presynaptic changes adjusted the speed of learning, while postsynaptic expression was better at regulating spike timing and frequency. When combining both expression loci, postsynaptic changes amplified the response range, while presynaptic plasticity maintained control over postsynaptic firing rates, potentially providing a form of activity homeostasis. Our findings highlight how the seemingly innocuous choice of implementing synaptic plasticity by direct weight modification may unwittingly introduce a postsynaptic bias in modelling outcomes. We conclude that pre- and postsynaptically expressed plasticity are not interchangeable, but enable complimentary functions.Author summaryDifferences between functional properties of pre- or postsynaptically expressed long-term plasticity have not yet been explored in much detail. In this paper, we used minimalist models of STDP with different expression loci, in search of fundamental functional consequences. Presynaptic expression acts mostly on neurotransmitter release, thereby altering short-term synaptic dynamics, whereas postsynaptic expression affects mainly synaptic gain. We compared cases where plasticity was expressed presynaptically, postsynaptically, or both. We found that postsynaptic plasticity was more effective at changing response times, while both pre- and postsynaptic plasticity were similarly capable of detecting correlated inputs. A model with biologically tuned expression of plasticity also achieved this separation over a range of frequencies without the need of external competitive mechanisms. Postsynaptic spiking frequency was not directly affected by presynaptic plasticity of short-term plasticity alone, however in combination with a postsynaptic component, it helped restrain positive feedback, contributing to activity homeostasis. In conclusion, expression locus may determine distinct coding schemes while also keeping activity within bounds. Our findings highlight the importance of correctly implementing expression of plasticity in modelling, since the locus of expression may affect functional outcomes in simulations.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Eymi Pimentel Mizusaki ◽  
Sally Si Ying Li ◽  
Rui Ponte Costa ◽  
Jesper Sjöström

A plethora of experimental studies have shown that long-term synaptic plasticity can be expressed pre- or postsynaptically depending on a range of factors such as developmental stage, synapse type, and activity patterns. The functional consequences of this diversity are not clear, although it is understood that whereas postsynaptic expression of plasticity predominantly affects synaptic response amplitude, presynaptic expression alters both synaptic response amplitude and short-term dynamics. In most models of neuronal learning, long-term synaptic plasticity is implemented as changes in connective weights. The consideration of long-term plasticity as a fixed change in amplitude corresponds more closely to post- than to presynaptic expression, which means theoretical outcomes based on this choice of implementation may have a postsynaptic bias. To explore the functional implications of the diversity of expression of long-term synaptic plasticity, we adapted a model of long-term plasticity, more specifically spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), such that it was expressed either independently pre- or postsynaptically, or in a mixture of both ways. We compared pair-based standard STDP models and a biologically tuned triplet STDP model, and investigated the outcomes in a minimal setting, using two different learning schemes: in the first, inputs were triggered at different latencies, and in the second a subset of inputs were temporally correlated. We found that presynaptic changes adjusted the speed of learning, while postsynaptic expression was more efficient at regulating spike timing and frequency. When combining both expression loci, postsynaptic changes amplified the response range, while presynaptic plasticity allowed control over postsynaptic firing rates, potentially providing a form of activity homeostasis. Our findings highlight how the seemingly innocuous choice of implementing synaptic plasticity by single weight modification may unwittingly introduce a postsynaptic bias in modelling outcomes. We conclude that pre- and postsynaptically expressed plasticity are not interchangeable, but enable complimentary functions.


eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Ponte Costa ◽  
Robert C Froemke ◽  
P Jesper Sjöström ◽  
Mark CW van Rossum

Although it is well known that long-term synaptic plasticity can be expressed both pre- and postsynaptically, the functional consequences of this arrangement have remained elusive. We show that spike-timing-dependent plasticity with both pre- and postsynaptic expression develops receptive fields with reduced variability and improved discriminability compared to postsynaptic plasticity alone. These long-term modifications in receptive field statistics match recent sensory perception experiments. Moreover, learning with this form of plasticity leaves a hidden postsynaptic memory trace that enables fast relearning of previously stored information, providing a cellular substrate for memory savings. Our results reveal essential roles for presynaptic plasticity that are missed when only postsynaptic expression of long-term plasticity is considered, and suggest an experience-dependent distribution of pre- and postsynaptic strength changes.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (12) ◽  
pp. 5737-5746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Ka Lam Pang ◽  
Mahima Sharma ◽  
Kumar Krishna-K. ◽  
Thomas Behnisch ◽  
Sreedharan Sajikumar

In spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), the direction and degree of synaptic modification are determined by the coherence of pre- and postsynaptic activities within a neuron. However, in the adult rat hippocampus, it remains unclear whether STDP-like mechanisms in a neuronal population induce synaptic potentiation of a long duration. Thus, we asked whether the magnitude and maintenance of synaptic plasticity in a population of CA1 neurons differ as a function of the temporal order and interval between pre- and postsynaptic activities. Modulation of the relative timing of Schaffer collateral fibers (presynaptic component) and CA1 axons (postsynaptic component) stimulations resulted in an asymmetric population STDP (pSTDP). The resulting potentiation in response to 20 pairings at 1 Hz was largest in magnitude and most persistent (4 h) when presynaptic activity coincided with or preceded postsynaptic activity. Interestingly, when postsynaptic activation preceded presynaptic stimulation by 20 ms, an immediate increase in field excitatory postsynaptic potentials was observed, but it eventually transformed into a synaptic depression. Furthermore, pSTDP engaged in selective forms of late-associative activity: It facilitated the maintenance of tetanization-induced early long-term potentiation (LTP) in neighboring synapses but not early long-term depression, reflecting possible mechanistic differences with classical tetanization-induced LTP. The data demonstrate that a pairing of pre- and postsynaptic activities in a neuronal population can greatly reduce the required number of synaptic plasticity-evoking events and induce a potentiation of a degree and duration similar to that with repeated tetanization. Thus, pSTDP determines synaptic efficacy in the hippocampal CA3–CA1 circuit and could bias the CA1 neuronal population toward potentiation in future events.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sang-Yoon Kim ◽  
Woochang Lim

We consider the Watts-Strogatz small-world network (SWN) consisting of inhibitory fast spiking Izhikevich interneurons. This inhibitory neuronal population has adaptive dynamic synaptic strengths governed by the inhibitory spike-timing-dependent plasticity (iSTDP). In previous works without iSTDP, fast sparsely synchronized rhythms, associated with diverse cognitive functions, were found to appear in a range of large noise intensities for fixed strong synaptic inhibition strengths. Here, we investigate the effect of iSTDP on fast sparse synchronization (FSS) by varying the noise intensity D. We employ an asymmetric anti-Hebbian time window for the iSTDP update rule [which is in contrast to the Hebbian time window for the excitatory STDP (eSTDP)]. Depending on values of D, population-averaged values of saturated synaptic inhibition strengths are potentiated [long-term potentiation (LTP)] or depressed [long-term depression (LTD)] in comparison with the initial mean value, and dispersions from the mean values of LTP/LTD are much increased when compared with the initial dispersion, independently of D. In most cases of LTD where the effect of mean LTD is dominant in comparison with the effect of dispersion, good synchronization (with higher spiking measure) is found to get better via LTD, while bad synchronization (with lower spiking measure) is found to get worse via LTP. This kind of Matthew effect in inhibitory synaptic plasticity is in contrast to that in excitatory synaptic plasticity where good (bad) synchronization gets better (worse) via LTP (LTD). Emergences of LTD and LTP of synaptic inhibition strengths are intensively investigated via a microscopic method based on the distributions of time delays between the pre- and the post-synaptic spike times. Furthermore, we also investigate the effects of network architecture on FSS by changing the rewiring probability p of the SWN in the presence of iSTDP.


2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 2414-2464 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Appleby ◽  
Terry Elliott

In earlier work we presented a stochastic model of spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) in which STDP emerges only at the level of temporal or spatial synaptic ensembles. We derived the two-spike interaction function from this model and showed that it exhibits an STDP-like form. Here, we extend this work by examining the general n-spike interaction functions that may be derived from the model. A comparison between the two-spike interaction function and the higher-order interaction functions reveals profound differences. In particular, we show that the two-spike interaction function cannot support stable, competitive synaptic plasticity, such as that seen during neuronal development, without including modifications designed specifically to stabilize its behavior. In contrast, we show that all the higher-order interaction functions exhibit a fixed-point structure consistent with the presence of competitive synaptic dynamics. This difference originates in the unification of our proposed “switch” mechanism for synaptic plasticity, coupling synaptic depression and synaptic potentiation processes together. While three or more spikes are required to probe this coupling, two spikes can never do so. We conclude that this coupling is critical to the presence of competitive dynamics and that multispike interactions are therefore vital to understanding synaptic competition.


2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 2959-2993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduardo Ros ◽  
Richard Carrillo ◽  
Eva M. Ortigosa ◽  
Boris Barbour ◽  
Rodrigo Agís

Nearly all neuronal information processing and interneuronal communication in the brain involves action potentials, or spikes, which drive the short-term synaptic dynamics of neurons, but also their long-term dynamics, via synaptic plasticity. In many brain structures, action potential activity is considered to be sparse. This sparseness of activity has been exploited to reduce the computational cost of large-scale network simulations, through the development of event-driven simulation schemes. However, existing event-driven simulations schemes use extremely simplified neuronal models. Here, we implement and evaluate critically an event-driven algorithm (ED-LUT) that uses precalculated look-up tables to characterize synaptic and neuronal dynamics. This approach enables the use of more complex (and realistic) neuronal models or data in representing the neurons, while retaining the advantage of high-speed simulation. We demonstrate the method's application for neurons containing exponential synaptic conductances, thereby implementing shunting inhibition, a phenomenon that is critical to cellular computation. We also introduce an improved two-stage event-queue algorithm, which allows the simulations to scale efficiently to highly connected networks with arbitrary propagation delays. Finally, the scheme readily accommodates implementation of synaptic plasticity mechanisms that depend on spike timing, enabling future simulations to explore issues of long-term learning and adaptation in large-scale networks.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Louise Louth ◽  
Rasmus Langelund Jørgensen ◽  
Anders Rosendal Korshoej ◽  
Jens Christian Hedemann Sørensen ◽  
Marco Capogna

Synapses in the cerebral cortex constantly change and this dynamic property regulated by the action of neuromodulators such as dopamine (DA), is essential for reward learning and memory. DA modulates spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), a cellular model of learning and memory, in juvenile rodent cortical neurons. However, it is unknown whether this neuromodulation also occurs at excitatory synapses of cortical neurons in mature adult mice or in humans. Cortical layer V pyramidal neurons were recorded with whole cell patch clamp electrophysiology and an extracellular stimulating electrode was used to induce STDP. DA was either bath-applied or optogenetically released in slices from mice. Classical STDP induction protocols triggered non-hebbian excitatory synaptic depression in the mouse or no plasticity at human cortical synapses. DA reverted long term synaptic depression to baseline in mouse via dopamine 2 type receptors or elicited long term synaptic potentiation in human cortical synapses. Furthermore, when DA was applied during an STDP protocol it depressed presynaptic inhibition in the mouse but not in the human cortex. Thus, DA modulates excitatory synaptic plasticity differently in human vs. mouse cortex. The data strengthens the importance of DA in gating cognition in humans, and may inform on therapeutic interventions to recover brain function from diseases.


2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 733-745
Author(s):  
Nora Athmani ◽  
Allaoui Amine ◽  
Nasri Moncef ◽  
Boualga Ahmed

Hypercholesterolemia is a major risk factor of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). A limited number of experimental studies have shown that sardine protein hydrolysates (SPH) could be a very useful natural compound to prevent hy-percholesterolemia by both improving the lipoprotein profile and modula-ting oxidative stress. In the present study, the effect of short and long term treatments with SPH were examined on serum lipid contents, lipid peroxida-tion and antioxidant enzymes activities in rats fed cholesterol-enriched diet. At day 0, rats were divided into five groups. The group of day 0 was the stan-dard group, and the four remaining groups were divided into two parts of two groups each consuming for 14 or 28 days an hypercholesterolemic diet, and treated (HC-SPH) or not (HC) by gavage with SPH. Compared with day 0, serum TC contents were increased at day 14 and remained unchanged at day 28 in HC-SPH group. These values were decreased in HC-SPH versus HC. Liver and heart TBARS concentrations were increased at day 14 then diminished at day 28 in HC-SPH group. Liver and heart SOD and CAT activities were decrea-sed at short term then remained unchanged at long term in HC-SPH group. In addition, these activities were enhanced in HC-SPH versus HC. In conclusion, these results indicate the potential effects of short and long term treatments of SPH to improved cholesterolemia and reduced radical attack in rats fed high-cholesterol diets.


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