Topic: homeostatic regulation

Neural circuit functions are stabilized by homeostatic mechanisms at long timescales in response to changes in experience and learning. However, we still do not know which specific physiological variables are being stabilized, nor which cellular or neural-network components comprise the homeostatic machinery. At this point, most evidence suggests that the distribution of firing rates amongst neurons in a brain circuit is the key variable that is maintained around a circuit-specific set-point value in a process called firing rate homeostasis. Here, I will discuss our recent findings that implic

Activity-dependent structural plasticity plays a pivotal role in the self-organization of neuronal networks. Emerging activity continuously feeds back into the growth process, regulating connectivity and activity homeostatically towards an optimal functional dynamic range. Transferred into cell culture, neurons follow the same homeostatic principles. They migrate and regrow neurites to establish synaptic connectivity and spontaneous network activity. Despite of homeostatic regulation, the resulting network structure and activity dynamics exhibit considerable variability across and within studi