Topic: inhibition

The cerebral cortex contains an extraordinary diversity of excitatory projection neuron (PN) and inhibitory interneurons (IN), wired together to form complex circuits. Spatiotemporally coordinated execution of intrinsic molecular programs by PNs and INs and activity-dependent processes, contribute to cortical development and cortical microcircuits formation. Alterations of these delicate processes have often been associated to neurological/neurodevelopmental disorders. However, despite the groundbreaking discovery that spontaneous activity in the embryonic brain can shape regional identities o

Inhibitory interneurons govern the sparse activation of principal cells that permits appropriate behaviors, but they among the most vulnerable to brain damage. Our recent work has demonstrated important roles for inhibitory neurons in disorders of brain development, injury and epilepsy. These studies have motivated our ongoing efforts to understand how these cells operate at the synaptic, circuit and behavioral levels and in designing new technologies targeting specific populations of interneurons for therapy. I will discuss our recent efforts examining the role of interneurons in traumatic br

Inhibitory interneurons come in different classes and form intricate circuits. While our knowledge of these circuits has advanced substantially over the last decades, it is not fully understood how the structure of these circuits relates to their function. I will present some of our recent attempts to “understand” the structure of interneuron circuits by means of computational modeling. Surprisingly (at least for us), we found that prominent features of inhibitory circuitry can be accounted for by an optimisation for excitation-inhibition (E/I) balance. In particular, we find that such an opti

During conversations we rapidly switch between listening and speaking which often requires withholding or delaying our speech in order to hear others and avoid overlapping. This capacity for vocal turn-taking is exhibited by non-linguistic species as well, however the neural circuit mechanisms that enable us to regulate the precise timing of our vocalizations during interactions are unknown. We aim to identify the neural mechanisms underlying the coordination of vocal interactions. Therefore, we paired zebra finches with a vocal robot (1Hz call playback) and measured the bird’s call response t

While inhibition is a building block of biological neural networks, its role in synaptic plasticity is yet to be fully understood. So far its role has only been addressed in rate and spike-timing based models (Wilmes et al., 2016; Agnes & Vogels,2024; Miehl & Gjorgijeva, 2022). Yet, experimental results show that the hyperpolarising effect of inhibition on the sub-threshold membrane potential can alter the expression of plasticity at excitatory synapses (Hayama et al. 2013; Paille et al. 2013). To address this gap, we explore the effects of inhibition in three voltage-dependent models: the vol

Burst-suppression (BS) is a highly structured electroencephalogram (EEG) pattern characterized by alternating periods of high-voltage activity (bursts) and low or flatline activity (suppression). In non-anesthetized adults, BS indicates severe brain pathology, e.g. due to oxygen and glucose deprivation [1]. There are two types of BS: one with identical bursts that are highly periodic and uniform in shape, often signaling a poor prognosis, and one without identical bursts [2]. The neuronal mechanisms behind BS and these variations remain largely unknown. Some studies suggest the involvement of