Session V1: Noise in Biological Systems

8:00 AM–11:00 AM, Thursday, March 19, 2009
Room: Spirit of Pittsburgh Ballroom A

Chair: Yin Yeh, University of California, Davis

Abstract ID: BAPS.2009.MAR.V1.5

Abstract: V1.00005 : Activity-dependent stochastic resonance in recurrent neuronal networks

10:24 AM–11:00 AM

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An important source of noise for neuronal networks is that of the stochastic nature of synaptic transmission. In particular, there can occur spontaneous asynchronous release of neurotransmitter at a rate that is strongly dependent on the presynaptic Ca2+ concentration and hence strongly dependent on the rate of spike induced Ca2+. Here it is shown that this noise can lead to a new form of stochastic resonance for local circuits consisting of roughly 100 neurons - a microcolumn''- coupled via noisy plastic synapses. Furthermore, due to the plastic coupling and activity-dependent noise component, the detection of weak stimuli will also depend on the structure of the latter. In addition, the circuit can exhibit short-term memory, by which we mean that spiking will continue to occur for a transient period following removal of the stimulus. These results can be directly tested in experiments on cultured networks.