AI and graph-based systems.
The genesis of our laboratory is the marriage of computers and nervous systems in computational neuroscience research. We have investigated questions of neural function since our founding, and this work is still a core aspect of our lab. You can see past projects under the "Projects/Completed" menu item; here we present our current work-in-progress.
Large-scale computational studies are used to investigate the interplay of individual neuron activity, network connectivity, and bursting behaviors in developing cortical cultures. Simulations of tens of thousands of cells over weeks of development demonstrate that simple, closed-loop neurite outgrowth and dynamic synapses are sufficient to reproduce the bursting characteristics observed in vitro. Further spatiotemporal analysis reveals that these whole-network bursts originate at a small number of network locations and propagate as traveling waves of activity, without requiring fine-tuned parameters.
Following initial network growth, Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity (STDP) refines connectivity by pruning ineffective synapses and strengthening effective ones. STDP models are used to investigate how this plasticity mechanism alters already-developed networks. Simulations show that STDP leads to stable alterations in network architecture and that networks exhibiting bursting and traveling waves evolve to support more frequent bursting with asymmetric wave propagation.