Synapses and Long Term Plasticity

• Neurons communicate via synapses.
• These can be chemical synapses, or electrical synapses (gap junctions).
• Neurons are sparsely connected and most simulation is done with chemical synapses or metaphorical connections.
• Using a metaphorical connection, synapses are merely weights to pass current.
• Changing the weights is knows as Long Term Plasticity.
• This can be Long Term Depression (reducing the weights) or Long Term Potentiation (increasing the weights).