Nonlinear dynamics in a model neuron provide a novel mechanism for transient synaptic inputs to produce long-term alterations of postsynaptic activity.

1. A mathematical model of a bursting molluscan neuron has been found to possess multiple modes of electrical activity, such as periodic beating (tonic firing), periodic bursting (bursts of action potentials separated by quiescent periods), and potentially chaotic bursting, all at a single set of parameters. The multiple modes correspond to multiple stable attractors, whose existence is an emergent property of the nonlinear dynamics of the system. 2. Transient synaptic inputs can switch the activity of the neuron between different modes. These mode transitions, which do not require any changes in the biochemical or biophysical parameters of the neuron, provide an enduring response to a transient input, as well as a mechanism for phasic sensitivity (i.e., temporal specificity). 3. These results provide new insights into the role of nonlinear dynamics in information processing and storage at the level of the single neuron.