--- special seminar --------------------------------------------------

日時：２００６年７月１８日（火）１０：３０−１１：３０

場所：京都大学物理学教室（理学部５号館）第４講義室（１階）

Title: Modeling the rhythmic dynamics of developing spinal cord.

Presenter: Professor John Rinzel (New York University, Center for Neural Science and Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences)

Abstract: Many developing neural systems exhibit spontaneous rhythmic activity: episodes of many neurons firing (say for 10s of seconds) separated by long silent phases. In collaboration with expermentalists (M O'Donovan lab, NIH) we have formulated and studied a set of models that describe the activity patterns in the chick spinal cord, where silent phases can be very long, 10 mins or so. The behavior is network-mediated; a neuron model if isolated does not oscillate episodically. Slow (synaptic) depression accumulates in the functionally excitatory network to terminate an episode and then recovers between episodes. In early development the usually inhibitory GABA/glycine synapses are effectively excitatory and their driving forces (chloride concentrations) vary slowly and contribute to the synaptic depression. We use mean-field models as well as cell-based networks of spiking neurons to understand the dynamics and to design experiments and then analyze results. The structural framework of the models (including bistability on the fast time scale) allows for fast/slow analysis of the emergent rhythmicity.

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神経細胞の数理モデリングの達人，Prof. John Rinzelにセミナーをお願いしました．理研・深井さんの招へいと，京大医・船曳和雄さんのお世話による招待です．非線形動力学セミナーとの共催として，振動現象に焦点を当てた話をして頂きます．

Depressionの効果に２種類の時間を入れて2-10minという長い “inter episode interval”を説明したモデルです．「バースティングニューロン」の応用なのですが，さすがモデリングの達人．面白い．これ結構オモチャとして遊べるぞ．

院生も元気に質問してます．

大変よいモデルで，勉強になりました．