title: Cytosolic Ca2+ gradients, Ca2+ binding proteins and synaptic plasticity.
abstract: Trains of spikes encoded by presynaptic neurons are decoded into rises in cytosolic Ca2+ concentration both in presynaptic terminals and in postsynaptic dendrites. Intracellular [Ca2+] rises trigger neurotransmitter release and also induce short- and long-term modifications of synaptic efficacy. These modifications can be potentiation or depression depending on the intensity of stimuli. A dynamic mechanism, "dynamic decoding", is proposed to understand the multiplicity of the functions of Ca2+, based on recent knowledge of Ca2+ binding proteins and of the dynamics of Ca2+ signaling. The dynamic model is in many ways superior to static models, and may be applied to various neuronal functions including the induction of long-term plasticity in cerebral cortex.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kasai
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism*; D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D003600:Cytosol / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D002135:Calcium-Binding Proteins; D002118:Calcium