Abstract
In order to mediate various adaptive responses, the circuitry of the nervous system remains modifiable, or plastic, throughout life. The term plasticity refers to virtually any form of change in the nervous system or in behavior. Synaptic plasticity may be defined as the capability of synapses to vary their function, to be replaced, and to increase or decrease in number when required. In studies on synaptic plasticity, it is a widely held working hypothesis that modifications at synapses are, to a large extent, responsible for the overall plasticity of nervous system circuitry and, therefore, behavioral plasticity.
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Further reading
Cotman CW, Nieto-Sampedro M, Hams EW (1981): Synapse replace-ment in the nervous system of adult vertebrates. Phvsiol Rev 61: 684
Cotman CW, Nieto-Sampedro M (1984): Cell biology of synaptic plasticity. Science 225: 1287
Teyler TL, Discenna P (1984): Long term potentiation as a candidate mnemonic device. Brain Res Rev 7: 15
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Nieto-Sampedro, M., Cotman, C.W. (1989). Synaptic Plasticity. In: Learning and Memory. Readings from the Encyclopedia of Neuroscience . Birkhäuser, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6778-7_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-6778-7_5
Publisher Name: Birkhäuser, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-8176-3393-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-6778-7
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