Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Long-term Potentiation

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 Potentiation

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.

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Learning and Representation of Categories in the Rodent Brain.

Annual review of neuroscience·2026

Same author

Combinatorial protein barcodes enable self-correcting neuron tracing with nanoscale molecular context.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2025

Same author

A column-like organization for ocular dominance in mouse visual cortex.

Nature communications·2025

Same author

Learning produces an orthogonalized state machine in the hippocampus.

Nature·2025

Same author

From animal models to human individuality: Integrative approaches to the study of brain plasticity.

Neuron·2024

Same author

Sensory experience steers representational drift in mouse visual cortex.

Nature communications·2024

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 26, 2026

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

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

Published on: August 11, 2019

Activity-dependent clustering of functional synaptic inputs on developing hippocampal dendrites.

Thomas Kleindienst¹, Johan Winnubst, Claudia Roth-Alpermann

¹Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

|December 27, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

During brain development, spontaneous neuronal activity guides synapse formation. Neighboring synapses on hippocampal neurons become coactive, demonstrating precise subcellular connectivity essential for neural circuit development.

More Related Videos

Assessment of Dendritic Arborization in the Dentate Gyrus of the Hippocampal Region in Mice

Assessment of Dendritic Arborization in the Dentate Gyrus of the Hippocampal Region in Mice

Published on: March 31, 2015

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

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

Published on: September 4, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: May 26, 2026

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

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

Published on: August 11, 2019

Assessment of Dendritic Arborization in the Dentate Gyrus of the Hippocampal Region in Mice

Assessment of Dendritic Arborization in the Dentate Gyrus of the Hippocampal Region in Mice

Published on: March 31, 2015

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

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

Published on: September 4, 2015

Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Developmental Biology
Cellular Biology

Background:

Neuronal networks generate spontaneous activity before sensory system maturation.
This activity is synchronized across neurons but its fine-structure on individual neurons is unknown.
Understanding synaptic input patterns is crucial for deciphering neural circuit development.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the spatiotemporal patterns of synaptic activity on individual hippocampal pyramidal neurons during development.
To identify fine-scale connectivity rules governing synaptic input organization.
To determine the role of spontaneous neuronal activity in shaping synaptic organization.

Main Methods:

Utilized in vivo calcium imaging to simultaneously record activity from numerous synapses on hippocampal pyramidal neurons.
Analyzed spatiotemporal patterns of synaptic co-activation.
Investigated the necessity of neuronal spiking and NMDA receptor activity for synaptic clustering.

Main Results:

Identified a fine-scale connectivity rule: synapses within 16 μm are more likely to be coactive.
Demonstrated that spontaneous neuronal activity is required for this synaptic input clustering.
Showed that NMDA receptor activation is involved in this activity-dependent process.

Conclusions:

Developmentally expressed spontaneous activity plays a critical role in organizing synaptic inputs with subcellular precision.
This activity-dependent mechanism contributes to the precise wiring of neuronal connections.
Findings reveal a novel mechanism for activity-dependent synapse refinement during brain development.