Synaptic pathways in neural microcircuits

Gilad Silberberg, Sten Grillner, Fiona E.N. LeBeau, Reinoud Maex, Henry Markram
2005 Trends in Neurosciences  
The functions performed by different neural microcircuits depend on the anatomical and physiological properties of the various synaptic pathways connecting neurons. Neural microcircuits across various species and brain regions are similar in terms of the repertoire of neurotransmitters, synaptic kinetics, short-and long-term plasticity, and target-specificity of synaptic connections within the microcircuit. Microcircuits can however be fundamentally different in terms of the precise recurrent
more » ... sign used to achieve a specific functionality. In this review we compare the connectivity designs in the spinal cord, hippocampal, neocortical and cerebellar microcircuits, and discuss the different computational challenges that each microcircuit faces.
doi:10.1016/j.tins.2005.08.004 pmid:16122815 fatcat:tdz46heycbcivbf2gwjngeqnie