Network Oscillations and Synaptic Plasticity in Cortical Circuits
Memory is a fundamental capacity of the human brain. Memory binds together the past and the present, and gives us the ability to function in modern society. Memory deficits are among the most devastating symptoms of certain brain disorders, such as epilepsy, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease. A challenge for neuroscience in the 21st century is to understand how the brain generates memory, that is, how it encodes, stores, and retrieves information.
The reductionist approach of recording from single neurons and single synapses has provided a wealth of data, but a unified framework for understanding how neurons act collectively to process information remains to be developed. New technology, such as multielectrode arrays, functional imaging and optogentics, enables us to approach such questions at the network level, and principles of biologically-realistic neural information processing are beginning to emerge.
The Neuronal Oscillations Group is primarily interested in the relation between network oscillations and synaptic plasticity, and the implications for behavioural memory and brain disorders. We focus on the hippocampal circuitry, but have recently strayed into developing neocortex to see whether similar principles apply there.
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