Abstract

Synaptic plasticity is important for learning and memory formation; it describes the strengthening or weakening of connections between synapses. The postsynaptic part of excitatory synapses resides in dendritic spines, which are small protrusions on the dendrites. One of the key features of synaptic plasticity is its correlation with the size of these spines. A long-lasting synaptic strength increase [long-term potentiation (LTP)] is only possible through the reconfiguration of the actin spine cytoskeleton. Here, we develop an experimentally informed three-dimensional computational model in a moving boundary framework to investigate this reconfiguration. Our model describes the reactions between actin and actin-binding proteins leading to the cytoskeleton remodeling and their effect on the spine membrane shape to examine the spine enlargement upon LTP. Moreover, we find that the incorporation of perisynaptic elements enhances spine enlargement upon LTP, exhibiting the importance of accounting for these elements when studying structural LTP. Our model shows adaptation to repeated stimuli resulting from the interactions between spine proteins and mechanical forces.

MeSH

Nervous System Diseases, Membranes, Synapses, Actins, Spine, Cytoskeleton, Long-Term Potentiation, Dendritic Spines

Cited by

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• Role of Post-Transcriptional Regulation in Learning and Memory in Mammals. Genes (Basel), 2024
• Long-term potentiation-induced changes in actin dynamics and spine geometry persist on the timescale of the synaptic tag. Commun Biol, 2025