Homeostatic Regulation of Neuronal Excitability

Abstract

Homeostat ic regulat ion of neuronal excitabil ity refer s to the collect iv e phenomena by which neurons alter their intr insic or sy napt ic proper t ies to maintain a target lev el of electr ical act iv ity (see Fig. 1 & 2 ). Many types of homeostat ic processes hav e been observ ed in neurons in different exper imental preparat ions and contexts. Computat ionally , homeostat ic plast icity is an impor tant means of ensur ing stability in network act iv ity and electr ical proper t ies of indiv idual units. This ar t icle focuses on homeostat ic plast icity of single neurons, in par t icular , the act iv ity -dependent regulat ion of ion channel densit ies that determine the intr insic proper t ies of neurons. The wider field of neuronal homeostasis cov er s many areas of neurophy siology , including structural plast icity , neurogenesis and cellular homeostasis.