Dynamic synapses as archives of synaptic history: state-dependent redistribution of synaptic efficacy in the rat...

Plastic modifications of synaptic strength are putative mechanisms underlying information processing in the brain, including memory storage, signal integration and filtering. Here we describe a dynamic interplay between short-term and long-term synaptic plasticity. At rat hippocampal CA1 synapses, induction of both long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD) was accompanied by changes in the profile of short-term plasticity, termed redistribution of synaptic efficacy (RSE). RSE was presynaptically expressed and associated in part with a persistent alteration in hyperpolarization-activated I(h) channel activity. Already potentiated synapses were still capable of showing RSE in response to additional LTP-triggering stimulation. Strikingly, RSE took place even after reversal of LTP or LTD, that is, the same synapse can display different levels of short-term plasticity without changing synaptic efficacy for the initial spike in burst presynaptic firing, thereby modulating spike transmission in a firing rate-dependent manner. Thus, the history of long-term synaptic plasticity is registered in the form of short-term plasticity, and RSE extends the information storage capacity of a synapse and adds another dimension of functional complexity to neuronal operations.