Cosyne 2008 Workshops
March 3-4, 2008
Snow Bird, Utah
Speaker Name
Gloster Aaron, Neuroscience and Behavior Department of Biology, Wesleyan University Middletown, CT
Talk Title
Searching for organization in the activity of neuronal networks
Talk Abstract
Can neuronal networks produce patterns of activity with a precision in the millisecond range? It may seem unlikely, considering the imprecision of synaptic transmission at single synapses. However, compelling theories of brain function strongly suggest such precision is likely (Abeles, 1991), and several studies have presented evidence for and against the hypothesis. Ikegaya et al. (2004) argued in favor of the hypothesis, based on results demonstrating that precise patterns of synaptic inputs could be found in intracellular recordings. A more recent study of intracellular recordings has argued against the hypothesis (Mokeichev et al., 2007). We have now reexamined our previous data with methods introduced from Mokeichev et al. (2007), as well as recorded new data similar to that study. Our reevaluation supports the results of Ikegaya et al, (2004), while also supporting the conclusions of Mokeichev with regards to the in vivo recordings they conducted. Our study also adds qualifications and new hypotheses concerning the interpretation of these studies.
