Plasticity of inhibitory synapses in rhythmic networks

突触抑制对所有神经元网络都很重要。尽管如此，在发育和成年动物中，对控制抑制性突触强度的学习规则知之甚少。该项目的目标是确定龙虾胃神经节（STG）中的抑制性突触是否显示强度的活动依赖性修改，以及先前提出的理论学习规则是否捕获这些修改。STG中的突触前神经元将被电压钳位并驱动以产生长时间的去极化序列。突触后神经元的电压响应，保持在电流钳，之前和之后延长的突触前去极化将确定任何突触修饰的存在和性质。将研究这种修饰对突触后电压和钙离子浓度的依赖性。这些实验将激发理论突触修饰规则的发展，这些规则将在生物学上现实的模型神经元中实现，结果也将激发突触和内在电导的一致调谐的建模。

Synaptic inhibition is important for all neuronal networks. Nonetheless, relatively little is known about the learning rules by which inhibitory synaptic strengths are controlled, in development and in adult animals. The goal of this project is to determine whether the inhibitory synapses in the lobster stomatogastric ganglion (STG) show activity-dependent modifications in strength, and whether previously proposed theoretical learning rules capture these modifications. A presynaptic neuron in the STG will be voltage clamped and driven to produce trains of depolarization for extended periods of time. The voltage response of the postsynaptic neuron, held in current clamp, before and after extended presynaptic depolarization will determine the existence and properties of any synaptic modification. The dependence of this modification on postsynaptic voltage and calcium concentration will be investigated. These experiments will motivate development of theoretical synaptic modification rules which will be implemented in biologically realistic model neurons results will also motivate modeling of coincident tuning of synaptic and intrinsic conductances.