Correlated Connectivity and the Distribution of Firing Rates in the Neocortex

Koulakov, A. A., Hromadka, T., Zador, A. M. (March 2009) Correlated Connectivity and the Distribution of Firing Rates in the Neocortex. J Neurosci, 29 (12). pp. 3685-3694. ISSN 0270-6474

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Abstract

Two recent experimental observations pose a challenge to many cortical models. First, the activity in the auditory cortex is sparse, and firing rates can be described by a lognormal distribution. Second, the distribution of nonzero synaptic strengths between nearby cortical neurons can also be described by a lognormal distribution. Here we use a simple model of cortical activity to reconcile these observations. The model makes the experimentally testable prediction that synaptic efficacies onto a given cortical neuron are statistically correlated, i.e., it predicts that some neurons receive stronger synapses than other neurons. We propose a simple Hebb-like learning rule that gives rise to such correlations and yields both lognormal firing rates and synaptic efficacies. Our results represent a first step toward reconciling sparse activity and sparse connectivity in cortical networks.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: CORTICAL-NEURONS cortical neurons GAIN MODULATION gain modulation VISUAL-CORTEX visual cortex STATISTICAL-ANALYSIS statistical analysis SIMPLE-MODEL simple model INPUT input CELLS cells PLASTICITY plasticity SYNAPSES synapses CIRCUITS circuits
Subjects: bioinformatics > computational biology
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > tissues types and functions > visual cortex
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Koulakov lab
CSHL labs > Zador lab
School of Biological Sciences > Publications
Depositing User: Leigh Johnson
Date: 25 March 2009
Date Deposited: 28 Mar 2012 19:01
Last Modified: 06 Nov 2017 20:56
PMCID: PMC2784918
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/25603

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