New Type of Neuroplasticity Rewires the Brain After a Single Experience
18 hours ago
- #Neuroplasticity
- #BTSP
- #Learning
- Neuroscientists have discovered a new form of neuroplasticity called behavioral timescale synaptic plasticity (BTSP), which allows the brain to learn from a single experience across several seconds, challenging the long-standing Hebbian plasticity model that requires repetition.
- BTSP involves dendritic plateau potentials—electrical changes in neuron branches that persist for up to seconds—strengthening synapses active before or after the event, enabling immediate memory formation, particularly in the hippocampus for spatial learning and episodic memories.
- This mechanism may explain one-shot learning, such as avoiding a hot stove or remembering a predator's location, by tagging active synapses with eligibility traces and triggering synaptic strengthening through biochemical cascades involving proteins like CaMKII.
- While BTSP addresses gaps in Hebbian plasticity, such as capturing slow behavioral timescales and solving credit assignment problems, it is seen as complementary rather than replacement, with Hebbian plasticity still crucial for brain development and initial wiring.
- Research on BTSP is ongoing, with questions about its molecular mechanisms and broader applicability beyond the hippocampus, but it represents a significant step in understanding neuroplasticity and how the brain adapts through experience.