Astrocyte and Neuronal Plasticity in the Somatosensory System

Figure 2

A schematic of coding and homeostatic plasticity. In coding plasticity, a specific pattern of activity on a particular input to the neuron leads to the strengthening or weakening of that connection. A common form of homeostatic plasticity known under the name of synaptic scaling involves proportional changes to all of the synapses to a neuron in order to keep its mean activity within a specified operating range. Blue circles represent postsynaptic cells and black lines/circles synaptic inputs. Wider synaptic inputs represent greater synaptic strength.