Support for a synaptic chain model of neuronal sequence generation
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Fee-Support for a synaptic chain model.pdf
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Author(s)
Long, Michael A.
Jin, Dezhe Z.
Fee, Michale S.
Date Issued
November 2010
Journal
Nature
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Citation
Long, Michael A., Dezhe Z. Jin, and Michale S. Fee. “Support for a Synaptic Chain Model of Neuronal Sequence Generation.” Nature 468.7322 (2010): 394–399. Web.
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
In songbirds, the remarkable temporal precision of song is generated by a sparse sequence of bursts in the premotor nucleus HVC. To distinguish between two possible classes of models of neural sequence generation, we carried out intracellular recordings of HVC neurons in singing zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). We found that the subthreshold membrane potential is characterized by a large, rapid depolarization 5–10 ms before burst onset, consistent with a synaptically connected chain of neurons in HVC. We found no evidence for the slow membrane potential modulation predicted by models in which burst timing is controlled by subthreshold dynamics. Furthermore, bursts ride on an underlying depolarization of ~10-ms duration, probably the result of a regenerative calcium spike within HVC neurons that could facilitate the propagation of activity through a chain network with high temporal precision. Our results provide insight into the fundamental mechanisms by which neural circuits can generate complex sequential behaviours.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences
McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature09514
