Graded bidirectional synaptic plasticity is composed of switch-like unitary events

Biological information storage events are often rapid transitions between discrete states. In neural systems, the initiation of bidirectional plasticity by all-or-none events may help confer robustness on memory storage. Here, we report that at CA3-CA1 hippocampal synapses, individual potentiation and depression plasticity events are discrete and heterogeneous in nature. Individual synapses began from extreme high and low strength states. Unitary plasticity events were all-or-none and drove synaptic strength between extremes in < 1 min. Under naive conditions, approximately three-fourths of synapses began in a low-strength state. The timing of these unitary events can account for the time course of macroscopic synaptic plasticity.