Humans and many other animals have an enormous capacity to learn about sensory stimuli and to master new skills. However, many of the mechanisms that enable us to learn remain to be understood. One of the greatest challenges of systems neuroscience is to explain how synaptic connections change to support maximally adaptive behaviour. Here, we provide an overview of factors that determine the change in the strength of synapses, with a focus on synaptic plasticity in sensory cortices. We review the influence of neuromodulators and feedback connections in synaptic plasticity and suggest a specific framework in which these factors can interact to improve the functioning of the entire network.

人类和许多其他动物具有学习感官刺激和掌握新技能的巨大能力。但是，使我们能够学习的许多机制仍有待了解。系统神经科学的最大挑战之一是解释突触连接如何变化以支持最大的适应性行为。在这里，我们提供了决定突触强度变化的因素的概述，重点是感觉皮层中的突触可塑性。我们审查了神经调节剂和反馈连接在突触可塑性中的影响，并提出了一个特定的框架，其中这些因素可以相互作用，以改善整个网络的功能。