Modeling synapses and their impact on integrative properties of neurons

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The general objective of my Discovery Grant research program is to understand the biophysical determinants of neural computation. That is, to identify the substrates of cell to cell signalling and of signal integration that underlie information processing in nerve cells. The more specific focus is to understand how synaptic mechanisms shape the computational properties of neurons. The underlying rationale is that, a detailed understanding of these mechanisms is necessary to provide an appropriate appreciation of the computational capabilities of the brain. For example, synapses had been perceived for a long time as mere conveyers of information, such as a gate in simple circuits. Yet, research in recent years have revealed that synapses play a very active role in information processing by nerve cells. Synapses themselves perform critical computational functions in neural circuits. In turn, they can shape the integrative properties of the whole neuron. In fact, via synaptic activity, the network has the ability to alter the computational capabilities of its individual neurons.