Optimal stimulation protocol in a bistable synaptic consolidation model

TL;DR

This paper presents a mathematical model to identify optimal stimulation protocols for synaptic consolidation, revealing how repetition frequency critically influences memory stabilization, with results aligning with experimental observations of LTP.

Contribution

It introduces a simple bistable model to systematically analyze the effects of stimulation frequency on synaptic consolidation, uncovering optimal protocols.

Findings

Optimal stimulation protocols exist within the model.

Repetition frequency critically affects consolidation success.

Model reproduces frequency dependence observed in LTP experiments.

Abstract

Consolidation of synaptic changes in response to neural activity is thought to be fundamental for memory maintenance over a timescale of hours. In experiments, synaptic consolidation can be induced by repeatedly stimulating presynaptic neurons. However, the effectiveness of such protocols depends crucially on the repetition frequency of the stimulations and the mechanisms that cause this complex dependence are unknown. Here we propose a simple mathematical model that allows us to systematically study the interaction between the stimulation protocol and synaptic consolidation. We show the existence of optimal stimulation protocols for our model and, similarly to LTP experiments, the repetition frequency of the stimulation plays a crucial role in achieving consolidation. Our results show that the complex dependence of LTP on the stimulation frequency emerges naturally from a model which satisfies only minimal bistability requirements.