Biological process

synaptic facilitation

The process by which synaptic transmission, induced by the arrival of a spike (action potential) at a synapse, acts to increase the amount of neurotransmitter released in response to the arrival of subsequent spikes. This effect is seen when a train of closely space spikes arrives at a synapse with a low initial release probability. It occurs in a timeframe of tens to hundreds of milliseconds.

The mechanism of short term potentiation is thought to be either increased influx of calcium into the presynapse (Zucker and Regeh, 2002 PMID:11826273) increased sensitivity to calcium (Jackman et al., 2016 PMID:26738595) or both.