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Sci. Signal., 3 February 2009
Vol. 2, Issue 56, p. pe7
[DOI: 10.1126/scisignal.256pe7]

PERSPECTIVES

Bistable Switches for Synaptic Plasticity

Hideaki Ogasawara1,2* and Mitsuo Kawato2

1 National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Seika, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan.
2 ATR Computational Neuroscience Laboratories, Seika, Kyoto 619-0288, Japan.

Abstract: A persistent decrease in synaptic efficacy, called long-term depression (LTD), of the parallel fiber–Purkinje cell synapse is thought to underlie some forms of learning and memory in the cerebellum. Simulation studies predicted that mitogen-activated protein kinase and protein kinase C would mutually activate each other and make a bistable positive feedback loop, thereby providing a molecular basis for LTD. This claim stimulated experimenters to successfully demonstrate the feedback loop and its pivotal role in cerebellar LTD.

* Corresponding author. E-mail: ogahide{at}atr.jp

Citation: H. Ogasawara, M. Kawato, Bistable Switches for Synaptic Plasticity. Sci. Signal. 2, pe7 (2009).

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