Modulation of Neuronal Interactions Through Neuronal Synchronization
<p>WOMELSDORF  2007  in SCIENCE
 
 
Apr 27, 2010 1:56 PM
 
We propose that the <b>pattern of synchronization (its precision,<sup> </sup>phase, or both) weights the anatomical-connection infrastructure<sup> </sup>with a gain pattern,</b> resulting in an effective interaction pattern<sup> </sup>(<a href="#REF14"><i>14</i></a>). Such a mechanism would have several interesting features.<sup> </sup>First, the effective interaction pattern could be modified very<sup> </sup>dynamically. <b>Second, the mechanism would act connectionwise.</b><sup> </sup>Third, a transient interaction would lead to spike-time–dependent<sup> </sup>plasticity (<a href="#REF8"><i>8</i></a>–<a href="#REF10"><i>10</i></a>) and thus, a long-term trace. And fourth,<sup> </sup>synchronization might emerge in a self-organized manner between<sup> </sup>"matching" neuronal groups. <b>In the visual cortex, synchronization<sup> </sup>is stronger among neurons activated by the same visual stimulus<sup> </sup>(<a href="#REF1"><i>1</i></a>). </b>This principle might generalize to the<b> hand-shaking between<sup> </sup>cognitive top-down control and matching sensory bottom-up information,<sup> </sup>in which case consecutive synchronization could contribute to<sup> </sup>the selective routing of sensory information to behavioral control</b><sup> </sup>(<a href="#REF13"><i>13</i></a>, <a href="#REF14"><i>14</i></a>, <a href="#REF25"><i>25</i></a>). Our results suggest that synchronization has consequences<sup> </sup>for neuronal interactions, providing a putative mechanism through<sup> </sup>which synchronization contributes to cognitive functions.
 
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