title: |
Brains for Brains Award |
alt. title: |
Bernstein Conference 2013: Award Session and Outlook |
creators: |
Bisio, Martha (author),
Bourdoukan, Ralph (author),
Huber-Brösamle, Andrea (annotator)
|
subjects: |
Bernstein Conference,
Computational Neuroscience,
Award Session,
Brains for Brains Award,
Electrophysiological Activity,
Confined Neuronal Populations,
Development,
Spiking Networks,
Balance,
Excitation,
Inhibition,
Representation,
Martha Bisio,
Ralph Bourdoukan
|
description: |
Bernstein Conference 2013, 24. bis 27. September 2013 |
abstract: |
Martha Bisio:
The development of in vitro models of patterned neuronal networks is of significant interest
in the neuroscientific community and requires the convergence of electrophysiological studies
with micro/nano-fabrication of adapted devices. Neuronal assemblies coupled to Micro Electrode
Arrays (MEAs) constitute a peculiar neurobiological model for investigating the strategies
employed by the brain to represent and process information. Considering the multitude
of connections arising in un-patterned neuronal cultures, the constraint imposed to neurite
outgrowth along specific pathways ensures a considerable control over network complexity.
Indeed, in vitro models should be intrinsically modular, in order to provide a 'simplified' but
plausible representation of in vivo nervous systems. In order to facilitate the realization of
reproducible patterned assemblies, a technique to induce self-organization of networks into
two clusters connected by two macro-channels (50-100 µm width), on commercially available
MEAs, has been developed. The spontaneous activity has been recorded during the development
of patterned networks, from a few days up to 8 weeks. Unlike in vivo networks, in
which multiple activation pathways impinge on any recorded region, these partially confined
networks can be studied in a controlled environment. Moreover these networks exhibit synchronized
events at later stages of the development with respect to homogeneous cultures.
The obtained results constitute important evidence that engineered neuronal networks are a
powerful platform to systematically approach questions related to the dynamics of neuronal
assemblies. Moreover, this engineered system can be easily interfaced to artificial artifacts
in order to investigate coding properties towards the final goal of integrating brains and machines.
Ralph Bourdoukan:
Cortical activity is typically irregular, asynchronous, and Poisson-like. This variability seems
to be predominantly caused by a balance of excitatory and inhibitory neural input (Haider, B.
et al., 2006). However, the learning mechanisms that develop this balance and the functional
purpose of this balance are poorly understood. Here we show that a Hebbian plasticity rule
drives a network of integrate-and-fire neurons into the balanced regime while simultaneously
developing an optimal spike-based code. The remarkable coincidence of balance and optimality
in our model occurs when synaptic plasticity is proportional to the product of the
postsynaptic membrane potential and presynaptic firing rate. This plasticity rule acts to minimise
the magnitude of neural membrane potential fluctuations. Balance develops because,
without it, membrane potential fluctuations are too large. Meanwhile, an optimal representation
develops because membrane potentials correspond to representation errors for a signal
encoded by the network (Boerlin, M. and Deneve, S., 2011). This signal may be a sensory
signal or the result of some network computation. It can be extracted from the network spike
trains with a fixed linear decoder (a summation of postsynaptic potentials), with a precision
on the order of 1/N, where N is the number of neurons. This is much more precise than a typical
rate model. Our work suggests that several of the features measured in cortical networks,
such as the high trial-to-trial variability, the balance between excitation and inhibition, and
spike-time-dependent plasticity are all signatures of an optimal spike-based representation. |
publisher: |
ZDV Universität Tübingen |
contributors: |
Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Tübingen (BCCN) (producer),
Bethge, Matthias (organizer),
Wichmann, Felix (organizer),
Lam, Judith (organizer),
Macke, Jakob (organizer)
|
creation date: |
2013-09-27 |
dc type: |
image |
localtype: |
video |
identifier: |
UT_20130927_008_bestcon_0001 |
language: |
eng |
rights: |
Url: https://timmsstatic.uni-tuebingen.de/jtimms/TimmsDisclaimer.html?638679510849996568 |