Effect of holding potential on the dynamics of homosynaptic facilitation.

We study a form of short-term synaptic plasticity that was originally described as a graded potentiating effect of holding potential on spike-mediated synaptic transmission (Shimahara and Tauc, 1975). This form of plasticity has recently generated considerable interest, as it has become apparent that it is present in the mammalian brain (Clark and Häusser, 2006; Marder, 2006). It has been suggested that it adds a previously unappreciated analog component to spike-mediated synaptic transmission (Alle and Geiger, 2006, 2008).