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Related Concept Videos

Long-term Potentiation01:35

Long-term Potentiation

Long-term potentiation, or LTP, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTP is the process of synaptic strengthening that occurs over time between pre- and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic strengthening of LTP works in opposition to the synaptic weakening of long-term depression (LTD) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
Long-term Potentiation01:25

Long-term Potentiation

Long-term potentiation, or LTP, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTP is the process of synaptic strengthening that occurs over time between pre and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic strengthening of LTP works in opposition to the synaptic weakening of long-term depression (LTD) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
Hebbian LTP
LTP can occur when presynaptic neurons...
Long-term Depression01:05

Long-term Depression

Long-term depression, or LTD, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTD is the process of synaptic weakening that occurs over time between pre and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic weakening of LTD works in opposition to synaptic strengthening by long-term potentiation (LTP) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
Long-term Depression01:03

Long-term Depression

Long-term depression, or LTD, is one of the ways by which synaptic plasticity—changes in the strength of chemical synapses—can occur in the brain. LTD is the process of synaptic weakening that occurs over time between pre and postsynaptic neuronal connections. The synaptic weakening of LTD works in opposition to synaptic strengthening by long-term potentiation (LTP) and together are the main mechanisms that underlie learning and memory.
Calcium Ion Concentration Mechanism
If over time, all...
Neuroplasticity01:01

Neuroplasticity

Neuroplasticity reflects the brain's remarkable capacity to adapt and evolve, responding dynamically to learning, experiences, or injury by reorganizing its neural circuitry. This reorganization involves creating new neural connections and refining old ones through a series of biological processes that contribute to the brain's lifelong development and adaptability.
Chemical Synapses01:26

Chemical Synapses

Chemical synapses are specialized sites between two neurons or between a neuron and a non-neuronal cell like a muscle, glandular or sensory cell.
Because chemical synapses depend on the release of neurotransmitter molecules from synaptic vesicles to pass on their signal, there is an approximately one millisecond delay between when the axon potential reaches the presynaptic terminal and when the neurotransmitter leads to opening of postsynaptic ion channels. Additionally, this signaling is...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Investigation of Synaptic Tagging/Capture and Cross-capture using Acute Hippocampal Slices from Rodents
11:29

Investigation of Synaptic Tagging/Capture and Cross-capture using Acute Hippocampal Slices from Rodents

Published on: September 4, 2015

Long-term relationships between synaptic tenacity, synaptic remodeling, and network activity.

Amir Minerbi1, Roni Kahana, Larissa Goldfeld

  • 1Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Technion Faculty of Medicine, Haifa, Israel.

Plos Biology
|June 26, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Synapses constantly remodel, with large ones shrinking and small ones growing, even without external stimuli. This continuous synaptic remodeling challenges the idea of stable neural networks over time.

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Investigating Long-term Synaptic Plasticity in Interlamellar Hippocampus CA1 by Electrophysiological Field Recording

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Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Investigation of Synaptic Tagging/Capture and Cross-capture using Acute Hippocampal Slices from Rodents
11:29

Investigation of Synaptic Tagging/Capture and Cross-capture using Acute Hippocampal Slices from Rodents

Published on: September 4, 2015

3D Modeling of Dendritic Spines with Synaptic Plasticity
07:13

3D Modeling of Dendritic Spines with Synaptic Plasticity

Published on: May 18, 2020

Investigating Long-term Synaptic Plasticity in Interlamellar Hippocampus CA1 by Electrophysiological Field Recording
14:27

Investigating Long-term Synaptic Plasticity in Interlamellar Hippocampus CA1 by Electrophysiological Field Recording

Published on: August 11, 2019

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cell Biology
  • Systems Biology

Background:

  • Synaptic plasticity is considered crucial for neuronal network function.
  • It's assumed synapses remain stable without specific stimuli.
  • The long-term stability of individual synapses is largely unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the structural dynamics and stability of individual synapses over extended periods.
  • To determine how network activity influences synaptic remodeling.
  • To understand the tenacity of synaptic characteristics on behaviorally relevant timescales.

Main Methods:

  • Developed a system for continuous, long-term imaging of individual synapse structural dynamics.
  • Simultaneously recorded network activity in the same biological preparations.
  • Analyzed changes in synaptic size and distribution under different activity conditions.

Main Results:

  • Synaptic size distributions appeared stable over days, but individual synapses underwent continuous remodeling.
  • Active networks showed large synapses shrinking and small synapses growing, particularly during synchronous activity.
  • Network activity suppression reduced remodeling magnitude but eliminated size dependence, broadening distributions.

Conclusions:

  • Neuronal network activity strongly drives synaptic remodeling.
  • Significant synaptic remodeling occurs spontaneously, potentially explaining synaptic homeostasis.
  • The continuous remodeling raises questions about the reliability of individual synapses for persistent functional modification.