Location-dependent synaptic plasticity rules by dendritic spine cooperativity

Nonlinear interactions between coactive synapses enable neurons to discriminate between spatiotemporal patterns of inputs. Using patterned postsynaptic stimulation by two-photon glutamate uncaging, here we investigate the sensitivity of synaptic Ca 2+ signalling and long-term plasticity in individua...

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Published inNature communications Vol. 7; no. 1; p. 11380
Main Authors Weber, Jens P., Andrásfalvy, Bertalan K., Polito, Marina, Magó, Ádám, Ujfalussy, Balázs B., Makara, Judit K.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group UK 21.04.2016
Nature Publishing Group
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Summary:Nonlinear interactions between coactive synapses enable neurons to discriminate between spatiotemporal patterns of inputs. Using patterned postsynaptic stimulation by two-photon glutamate uncaging, here we investigate the sensitivity of synaptic Ca 2+ signalling and long-term plasticity in individual spines to coincident activity of nearby synapses. We find a proximodistally increasing gradient of nonlinear NMDA receptor (NMDAR)-mediated amplification of spine Ca 2+ signals by a few neighbouring coactive synapses along individual perisomatic dendrites. This synaptic cooperativity does not require dendritic spikes, but is correlated with dendritic Na + spike propagation strength. Furthermore, we show that repetitive synchronous subthreshold activation of small spine clusters produces input specific, NMDAR-dependent cooperative long-term potentiation at distal but not proximal dendritic locations. The sensitive synaptic cooperativity at distal dendritic compartments shown here may promote the formation of functional synaptic clusters, which in turn can facilitate active dendritic processing and storage of information encoded in spatiotemporal synaptic activity patterns. Inputs to functionally related synapses have been suggested to show cooperative summation, although the rules governing these interactions are unclear. Here, Weber et al . uncover non-linear interactions dependent on NMDAR signalling that vary across the proximal-distal axis of individual dendrites.
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ISSN:2041-1723
2041-1723
DOI:10.1038/ncomms11380