Special CNS Seminar

Modern neuroscience is characterized by two major breakthroughs: the growing ability to record from many neurons simultaneously, and the ability to genetically identify cell types that are distinguished by their biophysics and dynamics.   From a theoretical perspective, these trends pull in opposite directions. Making sense of the activity of many neurons pushes one toward descriptions in which neural activity is treated at the level of populations, while deepening knowledge of single neuron behavior begs for an understanding of how these properties contribute to information processing and network function.  We will discuss some examples in which details of single neuron behavior have a critical role in determining network function, in particular in the generation of waves, attractors and variability.