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Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Evaluation of Synaptic Multiplicity Using Whole-cell Patch-clamp Electrophysiology
Published on: April 23, 2019
The self-tuning neuron: synaptic scaling of excitatory synapses
1Department of Biology, Volen Center for Complex Systems, and National Center for Behavioral Genomics, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454, USA. turrigiano@brandeis.edu
Abstract:
Homeostatic synaptic scaling is a form of synaptic plasticity that adjusts the strength of all of a neuron's excitatory synapses up or down to stabilize firing. Current evidence suggests that neurons detect changes in their own firing rates through a set of calcium-dependent sensors that then regulate receptor trafficking to increase or decrease the accumulation of glutamate receptors at synaptic sites. Additional mechanisms may allow local or network-wide changes in activity to be sensed through parallel pathways, generating a nested set of homeostatic mechanisms that operate over different temporal and spatial scales.
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