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In general terms, synaptic plasticity describes a change, persistent or transient, of morphology, composition, or signal transduction efficiency at a neuronal synapse in response to intrinsic or extrinsic signals. Long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) likely represent the most extensively studied forms of synaptic plasticity, which itself is the best characterized form of neuronal plasticity, the cellular substrate for learning and memory.
Physiology and psychopharmacological modulation of LTP and LTD are described in detail elsewhere (see Cross-References). Like these special cases, most other forms of synaptic plasticity are induced by an associative coincidence of signals in space and time, in line with the theory of the so-called “Hebbian plasticity”: A convergence of different second messenger pathways or pre- and post-synaptic activity at the synapse itself. Of note, the term “synaptic” could...
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Mosbacher, J. (2010). Synaptic Plasticity. In: Stolerman, I.P. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68706-1_310
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-68706-1_310
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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