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Abstract
Cortical long-term plasticity depends on firing rate, spike timing, and cooperativity
among inputs, but how these factors interact during realistic patterns of activity
is unknown. Here we monitored plasticity while systematically varying the rate, spike
timing, and number of coincident afferents. These experiments demonstrate a novel
form of cooperativity operating even when postsynaptic firing is evoked by current
injection, and reveal a complex dependence of LTP and LTD on rate and timing. Based
on these data, we constructed and tested three quantitative models of cortical plasticity.
One of these models, in which spike-timing relationships causing LTP "win" out over
those favoring LTD, closely fits the data and accurately predicts the build-up of
plasticity during random firing. This provides a quantitative framework for predicting
the impact of in vivo firing patterns on synaptic strength.