Connectionists: New model of neocortex

[Sam Neymotin]

We are pleased to announce the recent publication of our research on a neocortical simulation
in Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, special issue on Structure, dynamics and function of brains:
Emergence of physiological oscillation frequencies in a computer model of neocortex.
by Neymotin SA, Lee H, Park E, Fenton AA and Lytton WW (2011)

The article is available here:
 http://www.frontiersin.org/computational_neuroscience/10.3389/fncom.2011.00019/full
and the NEURON computer model is available here:
 http://senselab.med.yale.edu/ModelDB/ShowModel.asp?model=138379

In this article we simulated a moderately-detailed neuronal network model with detailed wiring
and found that it was able to reproduce physiological oscillation patterns observed in-vivo.
Direct comparison of the power spectra with experimentally recorded local field potentials from
prefrontal cortex of awake rat showed substantial similarities, including comparable patterns of
cross-frequency coupling. We performed wiring perturbations and found that adding hubs in layer
2/3 excitatory cells had a substantial influence on network activity, suggesting that this
subpopulation was a primary generator of theta/beta. Similarly, layer 2/3 interneurons appeared
largely responsible for gamma activation through attenuation of the rest of the spectrum. The
network displayed frequency homeostasis: increased activation of supragranular layers increased
firing rates in the network without altering the spectral profile, and alteration in synaptic
delays did not significantly shift spectral peaks. 

-- The authors