Reshaping Neural Representation via Associative, Presynaptic Short-Term Plasticity

Abstract: Short-term synaptic plasticity (STP) is traditionally viewed as a purely presynaptic filter of incoming spike trains, independent of postsynaptic activity. Recent experiments, however, reveal an associative form of STP in which presynaptic release probability changes alongside long-term potentiation, implying a richer computational role for presynaptic plasticity. Here we develop a normative theory of associative STP using an information-theoretic framework. Extending Fisher-information-based learning to Tsodyks-Markram synapses, we derive analytic update rules for baseline synaptic strength and release probability that maximize encoded stimulus information under resource constraints. The learning rules separate into a conventional postsynaptic term tracking local firing and a distinct presynaptic term with a phase-advanced structure that selectively detects stimulus onset; critically, differences between plasticity of baseline strength and release probability arise within this presynaptic component. For stimulus variations slower than the EPSP time constant, onset sensitivity biases optimal connectivity toward anti-causal associations, strengthening synapses from neurons activated later to those activated earlier. In recurrent circuits, these rules yield ramp-like sustained representations and reverse replay after drive removal. Linear-response analysis further shows that STP confers frequency-dependent phase selectivity on presynaptic drive and that constraints on total release probability systematically tune temporal asymmetry. Together, our results provide a principled account of associative STP and identify presynaptic plasticity of release probability as a substrate for rapidly reconfigurable temporal coding.