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Krasnow Institute > Monday Seminars > Abstracts A Functional Role for Cellular Heterogeneity in a Mammalian Neural Network Rob Butera In the past decade, the neuronal "kernel" for respiratory rhythm generation has been localized to the preBotzinger complex of the ventrolateral medulla. Brain slices as thin as 200 um that contain this region continue to demonstrate stable output. We have explored the dynamics of the pattern-generating population of neurons in the slice using a computational model of a heterogeneous population of burst-capable neurons with excitatory coupling, a mechanism that we hypothesize underlies pattern-generating activity in these slices. The simulated population generates synchronous bursts of activity, and the frequency of both single cells and the coupled population may be controlled by varying the degree of depolarizing input (DI). The range of DI where stable bursting occurs is significantly larger for the coupled population than that of individual cells, suggesting a functional role of cellular heterogeneity in making this particular biological rhythm more robust. Experimental evidence is presented that shows a similar finding when comparing the DI of rhythmically active slices versus that of individual pacemaker neurons within the slice.
The Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study |
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