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Spike-Timing-Dependent Plasticity of Inhibitory Synapses in the Entorhinal Cortex

¹Institute for Nonlinear Science and ²Department of Physics and Marine Physical Laboratory (Scripps Institution of Oceanography), University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California

Submitted 23 May 2006; accepted in final form 9 August 2006

Actions of inhibitory interneurons organize and modulate many neuronal processes, yet the mechanisms and consequences of plasticity of inhibitory synapses remain poorly understood. We report on spike-timing-dependent plasticity of inhibitory synapses in the entorhinal cortex. After pairing presynaptic stimulations at time t_pre with evoked postsynaptic spikes at time t_post under pharmacological blockade of excitation we found, via whole cell recordings, an asymmetrical timing rule for plasticity of the remaining inhibitory responses. Strength of response varied as a function of the time interval t = t_post – t_pre: for t > 0 inhibitory responses potentiated, peaking at a delay of 10 ms. For t < 0, the synaptic coupling depressed, again with a maximal effect near 10 ms of delay. We also show that changes in synaptic strength depend on changes in intracellular calcium concentrations and demonstrate that the calcium enters the postsynaptic cell through voltage-gated channels. Using network models, we demonstrate how this novel form of plasticity can sculpt network behavior efficiently and with remarkable flexibility.