A critique of BCM behavior verification for STDP-type plasticity models

Abstract. Rate based (Bienenstock-Cooper-Munroe, BCM) and spike timing dependent plasticity (STDP) are the two principal learning behaviors found at cortical synapses. Some BCM induction protocols have been shown to be compatible with STDP rules, thus combining both forms of plasticity. However, we demonstrate that the majority of actual experimental BCM protocols cannot be reproduced by STDP. This sensitivity to spike protocol is inconsistent with the robust BCM behavior generally found in experiments. Moreover, we show that major recent spike timing rules, despite incorporating rate based effects, cannot replicate actual experimental BCM evidence. Thus, the purported convergence between these two important plasticity phenomena is called in question.