Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Changes in reliability of synaptic function as a mechanism for plasticity

C F Stevens1, Y Wang

  • 1Laboratory for Molecular Neurobiology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Salk Institute, La Jolla, California 92110.

Nature
|October 20, 1994
PubMed
Summary

Long-term potentiation (LTP) enhances synaptic reliability in the hippocampus, while long-term depression (LTD) decreases it. These changes occur without altering postsynaptic current size, establishing LTD as a functional inverse of LTP.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Analysis of differential shrinkage in frozen brain sections and its implications for the use of guard zones in stereology.

The Journal of comparative neurology·2011
Same author

A comprehensive analysis of deletions, multiplications, and copy number variations in PARK2.

Neurology·2010
Same author

Comparative analyses of the neuron numbers and volumes of the amygdaloid complex in old and new world primates.

The Journal of comparative neurology·2010
Same author

Letters to the Editor.

Biophysical journal·2009
Same author

Inactivity produces increases in neurotransmitter release and synapse size.

Neuron·2001
Same author

Vitamin A deprivation results in reversible loss of hippocampal long-term synaptic plasticity.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2001

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Synaptic Plasticity
  • Hippocampal Function

Background:

  • Synaptic transmission in the hippocampus is inherently unreliable.
  • Presynaptic action potentials frequently fail to trigger neurotransmitter release.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how synaptic strength alterations, specifically long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD), affect synaptic unreliability.
  • To determine if LTD is a functional inverse of LTP.

Main Methods:

  • Electrophysiological recordings in the hippocampus.
  • Analysis of synaptic transmission reliability.
  • Measurement of postsynaptic current amplitudes.

Main Results:

  • Long-term potentiation (LTP) was found to increase synaptic reliability.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Long-term depression (LTD) was found to decrease synaptic reliability.
  • Neither LTP nor LTD altered the amplitude of postsynaptic currents that did occur.

    • Conclusions:

    • Synaptic reliability is dynamically regulated by synaptic plasticity mechanisms.
    • Long-term depression (LTD) acts as a functional inverse of long-term potentiation (LTP).
    • The functional inverse relationship between LTP and LTD is maintained at the level of synaptic transmission reliability.