The diverse functions of short-term plasticity components in synaptic computations

Short-term plasticity (STP) comprises several rapid synaptic processes that operate on millisecond-to-minute timescales and modulate synaptic efficacy in an activity-dependent manner. Facilitation and augmentation are two major STP components in central synapses that work to enhance synaptic strength, while various forms of short-term depression work to decrease it. These multiple components of STP interact to perform a variety of synaptic computations. Using a modeling approach in excitatory hippocampal synapses, we recently described the contributions of individual STP components to synaptic operations. In this mini-review, we summarize the recent findings that revealed a wide palette of functions that STP components play in neural operations and discuss their roles in information processing, working memory and decision making.