Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 27, 2025
13:44
A Method for High Fidelity Optogenetic Control of Individual Pyramidal Neurons In vivo
Published on: September 2, 2013
19.4K
Synchronization of Electrically Coupled Resonate-and-Fire Neurons
Thomas Chartrand1, Mark S Goldman2, Timothy J Lewis3
1Graduate Group in Applied Mathematics, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616. Current address: Allen Institute for Brain Science, Seattle, WA.
SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical Systems
|December 4, 2020
Summary
Electrical coupling synchronizes neurons through both spikes and subthreshold fluctuations. Post-spike voltage elevation enhances this synchronization, while reset-induced shear can oppose it in asymmetric networks.
Area of Science:
- Computational Neuroscience
- Neural Oscillations
- Network Dynamics
Background:
- Electrical coupling is widespread in the brain, often assumed to drive network synchronization.
- Intrinsic neuronal properties, like subthreshold resonance and post-spike voltage dynamics, can influence synchronized activity.
- The interplay between spike-mediated and subthreshold electrical coupling effects on synchrony remains incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how both spike-mediated and subthreshold electrical coupling influence neuronal synchrony.
- To analyze the role of intrinsic neuronal properties, such as resonance and post-spike voltage dynamics, in electrical coupling.
- To explore the impact of network asymmetry on synchrony mediated by electrical synapses.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the theory of weakly coupled oscillators to model small networks of resonate-and-fire neurons.
- Calculated the phase response curve using an extended adjoint method, accounting for discontinuous post-spike reset.
- Analyzed the contribution of subthreshold fluctuations and spike dynamics to network synchronization.
Main Results:
- Both action potentials (spikes) and subthreshold fluctuations transmitted through electrical synapses promote network synchronization.
- The synchronizing effect of subthreshold fluctuations is amplified by significant post-spike voltage elevation (plateau potentials).
- A 'reset-induced shear' effect, arising from trajectories approaching the spiking threshold, can disrupt synchrony in asymmetric networks.
Conclusions:
- Electrical coupling synchronizes neuronal networks through a combination of spike and subthreshold mechanisms.
- Intrinsic neuronal properties, particularly post-spike voltage dynamics, significantly modulate the synchronizing efficacy of electrical synapses.
- Network asymmetry can lead to desynchronization due to reset-induced shear, highlighting the complexity beyond simple pairwise coupling.
Keywords:
34A3834C1534C2034D0637G1537N2592B2592C20electrical couplinggap junctionhybrid modelphase response curveresonate-and-fire modelsynchronizationMore Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:25Neural Circuits
2.2K
Neural circuits and neuronal pools are two of the main structures found in the nervous system. Neural circuits are networks of neurons that work together to carry out a specific task or process. They consist of interconnected neurons and glial cells, which provide structural and metabolic support.
Neuronal pools are collections of nerve cells with similar functions and interact through chemical and electrical signals. These pools include both interneurons (the central neural circuit nodes that...
Neuronal pools are collections of nerve cells with similar functions and interact through chemical and electrical signals. These pools include both interneurons (the central neural circuit nodes that...
2.2K
01:09Synaptic Signaling
6.2K
Neurons communicate at synapses, or junctions, to excite or inhibit the activity of other neurons or target cells, such as muscles. Synapses may be chemical or electrical.
Most synapses are chemical, meaning an electrical impulse or action potential spurs the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The neuron sending the signal is called the presynaptic neuron, and the neuron receiving the signal is the postsynaptic neuron.
The presynaptic neuron fires an action potential that...
Most synapses are chemical, meaning an electrical impulse or action potential spurs the release of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. The neuron sending the signal is called the presynaptic neuron, and the neuron receiving the signal is the postsynaptic neuron.
The presynaptic neuron fires an action potential that...
6.2K
01:12Synaptic Signaling
78.3K
Neurons communicate at synapses, or junctions, to excite or inhibit the activity of other neurons or target cells, such as muscles. Synapses may be chemical or electrical.
78.3K
01:28Neuronal Communication
2.4K
Neurons, the fundamental units of the brain and nervous system, communicate through complex electrochemical signals that underpin all cognitive and bodily functions. This communication is primarily facilitated by a process involving the generation and propagation of an action potential along the axon of the neuron. When the internal electrical charge of a neuron surpasses a certain threshold, an action potential is triggered. This rapid change in voltage travels swiftly along the axon to the...
2.4K
01:28Electrical Synapses
9.7K
Electrical synapses found in all nervous systems play important and unique roles. In these synapses, the presynaptic and postsynaptic membranes are very close together (3.5 nm) and are actually physically connected by channel proteins forming gap junctions.
Gap junctions allow the current to pass directly from one cell to the next. In contrast, in the chemical synapse, the neurotransmitters carry the information through the synaptic cleft from one neuron to the next. They consist of two...
Gap junctions allow the current to pass directly from one cell to the next. In contrast, in the chemical synapse, the neurotransmitters carry the information through the synaptic cleft from one neuron to the next. They consist of two...
9.7K
01:19The Role of Ion Channels in Neuronal Computation
3.5K
A postsynaptic neuron usually receives numerous impulses from several other presynaptic neurons. The axon hillock of the postsynaptic neuron integrates all these signals and determines the likelihood of firing an action potential.
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential....
Sometimes a single EPSP is strong enough to induce an action potential in the postsynaptic neuron. However, multiple presynaptic inputs must often create EPSPs around the same time for the postsynaptic neuron to be sufficiently depolarized to fire an action potential....
3.5K