Biology – Quantitative Biology – Neurons and Cognition
Scientific paper
2012-04-15
Biology
Quantitative Biology
Neurons and Cognition
Accepted for publication in Phys Rev E. 42 pages in referee format, 9 figures
Scientific paper
Short-term changes in efficacy have been postulated to enhance the ability of synapses to transmit information between neurons, and within neuronal networks. Even at the level of connections between single neurons, direct confirmation of this simple conjecture has proven elusive. By combining paired-cell recordings, realistic synaptic modelling and information theory, we provide evidence that short-term plasticity can not only improve, but also reduce information transfer between neurons. We focus on a concrete example in rat neocortex, but our results may generalise to other systems. When information is contained in the timings of individual spikes, we find that facilitation, depression and recovery affect information transmission in proportion to their impacts upon the probability of neurotransmitter release. When information is instead conveyed by mean spike rate only, the influences of short-term plasticity critically depend on the range of spike frequencies that the target network can distinguish (its effective dynamic range). Our results suggest that to efficiently transmit information, the brain must match synaptic type, coding strategy and network connectivity during development and behaviour.
Cowan Anna I.
Scott Pat
Stricker Christian
No associations
LandOfFree
Quantifying impacts of short-term plasticity on neuronal information transfer does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Quantifying impacts of short-term plasticity on neuronal information transfer, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Quantifying impacts of short-term plasticity on neuronal information transfer will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-287527