title: Synapse-specific homeostatic mechanisms in the hippocampus.
abstract: Homeostatic synaptic plasticity allows neural circuits to function stably despite fluctuations to their inputs. Previous work has shown that excitatory synaptic strength increases globally when neuronal inputs are chronically silenced. A recent paper by Kim and Tsien describes a new type of synapse-specific homeostatic plasticity in which input silencing causes simultaneous strengthening and weakening of different populations of excitatory synapses within a hippocampal network. These seemingly antagonistic homeostatic adaptations maintain synaptic gain and preserve overall network stability by limiting harmful reverberatory bursting, which may underlie epileptic seizures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Box G-LN, Sidney E. Frank Hall for Life Science, 185 Meeting Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA. katherine_deeg@brown.edu
authors.forename: Katherine E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Deeg
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology*; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology