A MOLECULAR-MODEL FOR THE REGULATION OF SYNAPSE EFFICACY AT THE POSTSYNAPTIC LEVEL

Abstract

The regulation of efficacy of a chemical synapse at the postsynaptic level is discussed in terms of the reversible allosteric transitions of the receptor for the neurotransmitter. The proposed model accounts for the regulation of a synapse by its own state of activity and by that of neighboring synapses on the same neuron. The model predicts persisting changes of efficacy in the time-scale of seconds-minutes compatible with short-term memory processes following, in particular, the scheme of classical conditioning.