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Correlated connectivity and the distribution of firing rates in the neocortex.


ABSTRACT: Two recent experimental observations pose a challenge to many cortical models. First, the activity in the auditory cortex is sparse, and firing rates can be described by a lognormal distribution. Second, the distribution of nonzero synaptic strengths between nearby cortical neurons can also be described by a lognormal distribution. Here we use a simple model of cortical activity to reconcile these observations. The model makes the experimentally testable prediction that synaptic efficacies onto a given cortical neuron are statistically correlated, i.e., it predicts that some neurons receive stronger synapses than other neurons. We propose a simple Hebb-like learning rule that gives rise to such correlations and yields both lognormal firing rates and synaptic efficacies. Our results represent a first step toward reconciling sparse activity and sparse connectivity in cortical networks.

SUBMITTER: Koulakov AA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2784918 | biostudies-other | 2009 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Correlated connectivity and the distribution of firing rates in the neocortex.

Koulakov Alexei A AA   Hromádka Tomás T   Zador Anthony M AM  

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 20090301 12


Two recent experimental observations pose a challenge to many cortical models. First, the activity in the auditory cortex is sparse, and firing rates can be described by a lognormal distribution. Second, the distribution of nonzero synaptic strengths between nearby cortical neurons can also be described by a lognormal distribution. Here we use a simple model of cortical activity to reconcile these observations. The model makes the experimentally testable prediction that synaptic efficacies onto  ...[more]

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