SKM 2023 – scientific programme
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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 13: Signaling, Biological Networks
BP 13.3: Talk
Wednesday, March 29, 2023, 10:15–10:30, BAR 0106
How can a single neuron influence behavior? Hints from integrate-and-fire network models — •Davide Bernardi1 and Benjamin Lindner2, 3 — 1Italian Institute of Technology, Ferrara, Italy — 2Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany — 3Institut für Physik, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Recent experiments challenge the established view that only large neuronal populations can reliably encode information, as is argued on the basis of the large noise and chaotic dynamics of cortical networks. One striking example is that awake rats can be trained to respond to the stimulation of a single cell in the barrel cortex. Here, this problem is framed theoretically by studying how the stimulation of a single neuron can be detected in large networks of integrate-and-fire neurons.
Combining numerical simulations and analytical calculations, we illustrate a simple strategy to detect the single neuron stimulation in the activity of a readout subpopulation or in a second network, which is both more realistic and more efficient. Furthermore, a readout network tuned to approximate a differentiator circuit can detect the single-neuron stimulation in a more biologically detailed model. In this case, the detection probability increases significantly upon injection of an irregular current, in agreement with experiments.
Our models show how inhibitory synapses could make it possible for the sensitivity to single-neuron perturbation to coexist with a stable asynchronous spontaneous activity, that is, through a mild selective imbalance in the topological (spatial) and temporal sense.