Modulation of inhibitory synapses in the mammalian brain

Recent studies have identified new forms of short-term and long-term modulation at inhibitory synapses. In cerebellum and hippocampus, a transient inhibition of synaptic efficacy has been found to involve a Ca(2+)-dependent retrograde messenger. Exciting results from work in the visual cortex suggest that forms of both long-term potentiation and long-term depression occur in cortical inhibitory synapses.