The self-tuning neuron: synaptic scaling of excitatory synapses.
Homeostatic synaptic scaling is a form of synaptic plasticity that adjusts the strength of all of a neuron's excitatory synapses up or down to stabilize firing. Current evidence suggests that neurons detect changes in their own firing rates through a set of calcium-dependent sensors that then regulate receptor trafficking to increase or decrease the accumulation of glutamate receptors at synaptic sites. Additional mechanisms may allow local or network-wide changes in activity to be sensed through parallel pathways, generating a nested set of homeostatic mechanisms that operate over different temporal and spatial scales.
Turrigiano
Gina G
GG
Department of Biology, Volen Center for Complex Systems, and National Center for Behavioral Genomics, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454, USA. turrigiano@brandeis.edu
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology