A Physiological Basis for a Theory of Synapse Modification

TLDR

Sensory experience during early postnatal life dramatically reorganizes the cerebral cortex, a process driven by synaptic plasticity that may also underlie certain adult learning forms. The study aims to determine what a synaptic modification mechanism must satisfy to explain experimental data in the developing visual cortex. The authors theoretically derived the requirements for a modification mechanism that accounts for the available experimental data in the developing visual cortex. The resulting theory specifies how variables influence synaptic modifications and enabled a biologically plausible molecular model of synapse modification in the cerebral cortex.

Abstract

The functional organization of the cerebral cortex is modified dramatically by sensory experience during early postnatal life. The basis for these modifications is a type of synaptic plasticity that may also contribute to some forms of adult learning. The question of how synapses modify according to experience has been approached by determining theoretically what is required of a modification mechanism to account for the available experimental data in the developing visual cortex. The resulting theory states precisely how certain variables might influence synaptic modifications. This insight has led to the development of a biologically plausible molecular model for synapse modification in the cerebral cortex.