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Published on: June 29, 2018
Intrinsic heterogeneity in oscillatory dynamics limits correlation-induced neural synchronization
Shawn D Burton1, G Bard Ermentrout, Nathaniel N Urban
1Department of Biological Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Journal of Neurophysiology
|July 21, 2012
Summary
Neural heterogeneity, including diverse phase-response curves (PRCs) and firing rates, significantly reduces correlation-induced synchrony in olfactory bulb mitral cells (MCs). This finding provides a theoretical basis for understanding neural synchronization in complex brain networks.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Computational Neuroscience
- Systems Neuroscience
Background:
- Synchronous neural oscillations are crucial for neural coding and activity propagation in the brain.
- Mechanisms like coupling and correlated input are proposed to underlie neural synchronization.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how physiological heterogeneity among neurons affects correlation-induced neural synchrony.
- To determine the impact of cell-to-cell differences in phase-response curves (PRCs) and firing properties on synchronization.
Main Methods:
- Acute slice electrophysiology was used to measure PRCs in olfactory bulb mitral cells (MCs).
- Phase-response curves (PRCs) and firing rate-current relationships were characterized across individual MCs.
- Computational simulations were employed to model synchronization in homogeneous and heterogeneous neuronal populations.
Main Results:
- Olfactory bulb mitral cells exhibited significant heterogeneity in their phase-response curves (PRCs) and firing rate-current relationships.
- Both PRC heterogeneity and firing rate differences independently reduced maximum correlation-induced synchrony by 25-30%.
- Simulations confirmed that these heterogeneity components sufficiently explained reduced synchronization in heterogeneous versus homogeneous populations.
Conclusions:
- Physiological heterogeneity in PRCs and firing rates significantly impairs correlation-induced neural synchronization.
- Mathematical theory aligned with experimental and simulation results, providing a basis for understanding heterogeneity's role.
- These findings offer insights into neural coding and activity propagation in the brain.
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