Presynaptic Homeostatic Plasticity Staves off Neurodegenerative Pathophysiology up to a Tipping Point.

In this issue of Neuron, Orr et al. (2020) identify an evolutionarily conserved mechanism of presynaptic homeostatic plasticity induced by ALS-like motor neuron degeneration, which maintains excitatory potentials until a threshold of synaptic loss is reached. Past this tipping point, disease onset progresses rapidly.