LOCALLY DISTRIBUTED SYNAPTIC POTENTIATION IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS

The long-lasting increase in synaptic strength known as long-term pote ntiation has been advanced as a potential physiological mechanism for many forms of both developmental and adult neuronal plasticity. In man y models of plasticity, intercellular communication has been proposed to account for observations in which simultaneously active neurons are strengthened together. The data presented here indicate that long-ter m potentiation can be communicated between synapses on neighboring neu rons by means of a diffusible messenger. This distributed potentiation provides a mechanism for the cooperative strengthening of proximal sy napses and may underlie a variety of plastic processes in the nervous system.