Heterosynaptic LTP in early development.
The formation of precise synaptic connections in the developing central nervous system involves activity-dependent control of synaptic strength. Correlated activity between the afferent input and postsynaptic neuron strengthens connections through long-term potentiation (LTP), while uncorrelated synaptic inputs are selectively diminished. In this issue of Neuron, Tao et al. report that LTP in young animals has less synaptic specificity than in older animals, indicating that the properties of LTP change during development.
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Division of Neuroscience, Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
D000818:Animals; D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology*; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*