Self-assembly of oscillatory neurons and networks

Abstract

The activity of rhythmic central pattern generating circuits depends on both the intrinsic properties of neurons and their synaptic interactions. We describe experiments on the development of the stomatogastric nervous system and on its recovery from removal of modulatory inputs that suggest that activity may be important in regulating the intrinsic and synaptic properties of these networks. Our computational studies argue that simple activity-dependent rules in which activity governs the regulation of intrinsic neuronal properties and the strength of inhibitory connections may be sufficient to account for the selfassembly of rhythmic networks.