Coordinated activation of distinct Ca2+ sources and metabotropic glutamate receptors encodes Hebbian synaptic plasticity

During STDP, the magnitude of postsynaptic Ca2+transients is hypothesized to determine the strength of synaptic plasticity. Here, the authors find that STDP in mature hippocampal synapses does not obey this rule but instead relies on the coordinated activation of NMDARs and VGCCs and their regulation by mGluRs and SK channels.