Cholinergic Modulation of Synaptic Plasticity in Sensory Neocortex

Activity-dependent synaptic plasticity occurs in neocortex devoted to each sensory system at all postnatal ages. The process is crucial for the refinement of topographic cortical representations and the development of stimulus selectivity in the neonate, and although the plasticity is more subtle in the adult cortex, it probably forms the basis of dynamic changes in sensory representations and may account for some forms of memory. A question of central importance is whether the fundamental mechanisms of neuronal plasticity are the same at different ages and in different cortical areas.