Within a spine's reach

DeBello, W., and Zito, K. (2017). In: Van Ooyen, A., and Butz-Ostendorf, M., eds. The Rewiring Brain: A Computational Approach to Structural Plasticity in the Adult Brain. San Diego: Academic Press, pp. 295-317.

Abstract

For much of the history of neuroscience, leading theories on the cellular basis of learning and memory focused on activity-dependent changes in synaptic weight. More recent experimental and theoretical studies have identified an intertwined role for rewiring at the microscale—the level of individual synaptic connections and their dendritic address. In this chapter we survey approximately the past 15 years of research into this topic with attention to the interactive roles of model and experiment. We focus on motifs of microscale connectivity and how they could impact information processing and storage. We review recent empirical tests of the input clustering hypothesis for pattern recognition and memory storage, and propose several areas for continued investigation. Finally, we discuss the implications of this dynamic research for neurorealistic simulation and neuromorphic computing.