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NJIT Applied Mathematics Colloquium

Friday, September 24th 2010, 11:30am
Cullimore Lecture Hall II
New Jersey Institute of Technology

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Mechanisms and Consequences of Coherent Activity

John White

Utah, Bioengineering

Evidence suggests that synchronous electrical activity in hippocampus and other cortical structures is important for cognitive function. We have studied the mechanisms of synchronization using electrophysiological and computational methods. More recently, we have exploited methods for introducing real-time control in cellular electrophysiology. These techniques allow us to Òknock inÓ virtual ion channels that can be controlled with great mathematical precision, and to immerse biological neurons in real-time, virtual neuronal networks. These manipulations allow us to test computationally-based hypotheses in living cells. From this work, I will discuss which properties of single cells and neural networks seem crucial for coherent activity in the hippocampal formation, with emphasis on how coherent activity may arise in the absence of cellular oscillations.