The applicability of spike time dependent plasticity to development

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Biology
• Computational Neuroscience

Background:

• Spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) is a mechanism for synaptic plasticity observed in adult and developing organisms.
• Theoretical models suggest STDP contributes to neural competition, homeostasis, and correlation-based plasticity.
• However, STDP's direct role in development is confirmed in limited cases.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review developmental contexts where STDP has been investigated.
• To explore the conditions under which STDP may influence neural circuit refinement.
• To propose a framework for understanding STDP's phased or masked role in development.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on STDP in developmental neuroscience.
• Analysis of specific case studies illustrating STDP's function in different neural systems.
• Synthesis of findings to propose a generalized model for STDP's developmental role.

Main Results:

• STDP requires fast correlations in neural activity, which may not always be present during early development.
• Sensory system development, particularly after sensory organ opening, provides faster time scales conducive to STDP.
• Transient "teacher" circuits can also facilitate fast correlations in developing microcircuits.

Conclusions:

• STDP is not a universally applied rule in neural development.
• The manifestation of STDP depends on the availability of specific activity patterns and developmental timing.
• Understanding STDP's role requires considering circuit-specific information processing and developmental stage.