Effects of Intrinsic Oscillations on Weight Dynamics under Spike Timing-dependent Plasticity

Spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) is a form of Hebbian learning which is thought to underlie structure formation during development, and learning and memory in later life. In this paper we show that the intrinsic properties of the postsynaptic neuron might have a deep influence on STDP dynamics, by shaping the causal correlation between the pre and the postsynaptic spike trains. In particular, we show that a presynaptic subgroup with an oscillatory firing rate embedded in a set of uncorrelated afferents can be biased towards potentiation or depression, depending upon the intrinsic dynamics of the postsynaptic neuron and the period of the modulation.