Roles for short-term synaptic plasticity in behavior.

Short-term synaptic plasticity is phylogenetically widespread in ascending sensory systems of vertebrate brains. Such plasticity is found at all levels of sensory processing, including in sensory cortices. The functional roles of this apparently ubiquitous short-term synaptic plasticity, however, are not well understood. Data obtained in midbrain electrosensory neurons of Eigenmannia suggest that this plasticity has at least two roles in sensory processing; enhancing low-pass temporal filtering and generating phase shifts used in processing moving sensory images. Short-term synaptic plasticity may serve similar roles in other sensory modalities, including vision.