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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Presynaptically Silent Synapses Studied with Light Microscopy
Published on: January 4, 2010
Bistable switches for synaptic plasticity
Hideaki Ogasawara1, Mitsuo Kawato
1National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Seika, Kyoto, Japan. ogahide@atr.jp
Abstract:
A persistent decrease in synaptic efficacy, called long-term depression (LTD), of the parallel fiber-Purkinje cell synapse is thought to underlie some forms of learning and memory in the cerebellum. Simulation studies predicted that mitogen-activated protein kinase and protein kinase C would mutually activate each other and make a bistable positive feedback loop, thereby providing a molecular basis for LTD. This claim stimulated experimenters to successfully demonstrate the feedback loop and its pivotal role in cerebellar LTD.
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