In vivo active control of neuronal networks by clamping single-neuron excitability.

A long-standing debate in neuroscience regards whether the neural code is based on the rate of spiking or on the precise timing at which action potentials in a neuronal network occur. In an alternative but equivalent formulation, what is more important and relevant for cognition, sensation and motor behavior, the number of spikes a neuron emits over a certain period of time, or the exact instants at which they occur? The aim of this project is to modulate in vivo the firing rate of a population of neurons by controlling the discharge pattern of a neuron embedded in the population. To achieve this goal, we will use both an extracellular probe to estimate the instantaneous firing rate of the neuronal network and an intracellular patch-clamp electrode to inject a driving current into a single neuron belonging to the network. The amount of injected current will be computed in real-time by a proportional-integral controller, on the basis of the discrepancy between the estimated firing rate and the desired target value. The injected current and the spike train of the controlled neuron will provide insights on the degree to which the network is sensitive to the precise instants at which the neuron fired.

Keywords:NEURONAL NETWORKS, NEURO-ENGINEERING, NEUROSCIENCE, NEURONS

Disciplines:Systems biology, Neurosciences, Biological and physiological psychology, Cognitive science and intelligent systems, Developmental psychology and ageing