Synapse-type-specific plasticity in neocortical microcircuits

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Neuroscientists believe that learning and memory as well as the refinement of neuronal circuits during development are due to changes in synaptic connections among interconnected neurons, known as synaptic plasticity. My team investigates plasticity in neocortex, with a focus on the more recently discovered Spike-Timing-Dependent Plasticity (STDP) paradigm, because of its excellent experimental control and biological plausibility. With classical STDP, pre before postsynaptic firing within a few milliseconds results in strengthening, whereas the opposite temporal order elicits weakening, which effectively enables the brain to learn causal relationships. But synaptic plasticity is known to vary with synapse type -- different mechanisms and phenomenology are found at inputs to different interneuronal classes. Why and how does synaptic plasticity vary? In this Discovery Grant proposal, we aim to confront this issue, using a battery of state-of-the-art methods such as paired recordings, 2-photon imaging, optogenetics, and computer modeling.