Homeostatic plasticity
In neuroscience, homeostatic plasticity refers to the capacity of neurons to regulate their own excitability relative to network activity.[1][2] The term homeostatic plasticity derives from two opposing concepts: 'homeostatic' (a product of the Greek words for 'same' and 'state' or 'condition') and plasticity (or 'change'), thus homeostatic plasticity means "staying the same through change".
Comparison with Hebbian plasticity
Homeostatic synaptic plasticity is a means of maintaining the synaptic basis for learning, respiration, and locomotion, in contrast to the Hebbian plasticity associated with learning and memory.[3] Although Hebbian forms of plasticity, such as long-term potentiation and long-term depression occur rapidly, homeostatic plasticity (which relies on protein synthesis) can take hours or days.[4] TNF-α[5] and microRNAs[4] are important mediators of homeostatic synaptic plasticity.
Homeostatic plasticity is thought to balance Hebbian plasticity by modulating the activity of the synapse or the properties of ion channels. Homeostatic plasticity in neocortical circuits has been studied in depth by Gina G. Turrigiano and Sacha Nelson of Brandeis University, who first observed compensatory changes in excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs) after chronic activity manipulations.[6]
Mechanism
Synaptic scaling has been proposed as a potential mechanism of homeostatic plasticity.[7] Homeostatic plasticity can be used to describe a process that maintains the stability of neuronal functions through a coordinated plasticity among subcellular compartments, such as the synapses versus the neurons and the cell bodies versus the axons.[8] Recently, it was proposed that homeostatic synaptic scaling may play a role in establishing the specificity of an associative memory.[9]
Homeostatic plasticity also maintains neuronal excitability in a real-time manner through the coordinated plasticity of threshold and refractory period at voltage-gated sodium channels.[10]
Role in central pattern generators
Homeostatic plasticity is also very important in the context of central pattern generators. In this context, neuronal properties are modulated in response to environmental changes in order to maintain an appropriate neural output.[11]
References
- Turrigiano GG, Nelson SB (February 2004). "Homeostatic plasticity in the developing nervous system". Nature Reviews. Neuroscience. 5 (2): 97–107. doi:10.1038/nrn1327. PMID 14735113. S2CID 14535839.
- Surmeier DJ, Foehring R (July 2004). "A mechanism for homeostatic plasticity". Nature Neuroscience. 7 (7): 691–692. doi:10.1038/nn0704-691. PMID 15220926. S2CID 1961886.
- Northcutt AJ, Schulz DJ (January 2020). "Molecular mechanisms of homeostatic plasticity in central pattern generator networks". Developmental Neurobiology. 80 (1–2): 58–69. doi:10.1002/dneu.22727. PMID 31778295. S2CID 208336298.
- Dubes S, Favereaux A, Thoumine O, Letellier M (2019). "miRNA-Dependent Control of Homeostatic Plasticity in Neurons". Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. 13: 536. doi:10.3389/fncel.2019.00536. PMC 6906196. PMID 31866828.
- Heir R, Stellwagen D (2020). "TNF-Mediated Homeostatic Synaptic Plasticity: From in vitro to in vivo Models". Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. 14: 565841. doi:10.3389/fncel.2020.565841. PMC 7556297. PMID 33192311.
- Turrigiano GG, Leslie KR, Desai NS, Rutherford LC, Nelson SB (February 1998). "Activity-dependent scaling of quantal amplitude in neocortical neurons". Nature. 391 (6670): 892–896. Bibcode:1998Natur.391..892T. doi:10.1038/36103. PMID 9495341. S2CID 4328177.
- Turrigiano G (January 2012). "Homeostatic synaptic plasticity: local and global mechanisms for stabilizing neuronal function". Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology. 4 (1): a005736. doi:10.1101/cshperspect.a005736. PMC 3249629. PMID 22086977.
- Chen N, Chen X, Wang JH (September 2008). "Homeostasis established by coordination of subcellular compartment plasticity improves spike encoding". Journal of Cell Science. 121 (Pt 17): 2961–2971. doi:10.1242/jcs.022368. PMID 18697837.
- Wu CH, Ramos R, Katz DB, Turrigiano GG (June 2021). "Homeostatic synaptic scaling establishes the specificity of an associative memory". Current Biology. 31 (11): 2274–2285.e5. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.024. PMC 8187282. PMID 33798429.
- Ge R, Chen N, Wang JH (September 2009). "Real-time neuronal homeostasis by coordinating VGSC intrinsic properties". Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 387 (3): 585–589. doi:10.1016/j.bbrc.2009.07.066. PMID 19616515.
- Northcutt AJ, Schulz DJ (January 2020). "Molecular mechanisms of homeostatic plasticity in central pattern generator networks". Developmental Neurobiology. 80 (1–2): 58–69. doi:10.1002/dneu.22727. PMID 31778295. S2CID 208336298.