Modeling the role of gap junctions between excitatory neurons in the developing visual cortex.
Recent experiments in the developing mammalian visual cortex have revealed that gap junctions couple excitatory cells and potentially influence the formation of chemical synapses. In particular, cells that were coupled by a gap junction during development tend to share an orientation preference and...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2021-07-01
|
| Series: | PLoS Computational Biology |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007915&type=printable |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850180720123707392 |
|---|---|
| author | Jennifer Crodelle David W McLaughlin |
| author_facet | Jennifer Crodelle David W McLaughlin |
| author_sort | Jennifer Crodelle |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Recent experiments in the developing mammalian visual cortex have revealed that gap junctions couple excitatory cells and potentially influence the formation of chemical synapses. In particular, cells that were coupled by a gap junction during development tend to share an orientation preference and are preferentially coupled by a chemical synapse in the adult cortex, a property that is diminished when gap junctions are blocked. In this work, we construct a simplified model of the developing mouse visual cortex including spike-timing-dependent plasticity of both the feedforward synaptic inputs and recurrent cortical synapses. We use this model to show that synchrony among gap-junction-coupled cells underlies their preference to form strong recurrent synapses and develop similar orientation preference; this effect decreases with an increase in coupling density. Additionally, we demonstrate that gap-junction coupling works, together with the relative timing of synaptic development of the feedforward and recurrent synapses, to determine the resulting cortical map of orientation preference. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4dd1d51524cb4d0ca60d525a63f652fd |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1553-734X 1553-7358 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-07-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Computational Biology |
| spelling | doaj-art-4dd1d51524cb4d0ca60d525a63f652fd2025-08-20T02:18:04ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Computational Biology1553-734X1553-73582021-07-01177e100791510.1371/journal.pcbi.1007915Modeling the role of gap junctions between excitatory neurons in the developing visual cortex.Jennifer CrodelleDavid W McLaughlinRecent experiments in the developing mammalian visual cortex have revealed that gap junctions couple excitatory cells and potentially influence the formation of chemical synapses. In particular, cells that were coupled by a gap junction during development tend to share an orientation preference and are preferentially coupled by a chemical synapse in the adult cortex, a property that is diminished when gap junctions are blocked. In this work, we construct a simplified model of the developing mouse visual cortex including spike-timing-dependent plasticity of both the feedforward synaptic inputs and recurrent cortical synapses. We use this model to show that synchrony among gap-junction-coupled cells underlies their preference to form strong recurrent synapses and develop similar orientation preference; this effect decreases with an increase in coupling density. Additionally, we demonstrate that gap-junction coupling works, together with the relative timing of synaptic development of the feedforward and recurrent synapses, to determine the resulting cortical map of orientation preference.https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007915&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Jennifer Crodelle David W McLaughlin Modeling the role of gap junctions between excitatory neurons in the developing visual cortex. PLoS Computational Biology |
| title | Modeling the role of gap junctions between excitatory neurons in the developing visual cortex. |
| title_full | Modeling the role of gap junctions between excitatory neurons in the developing visual cortex. |
| title_fullStr | Modeling the role of gap junctions between excitatory neurons in the developing visual cortex. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Modeling the role of gap junctions between excitatory neurons in the developing visual cortex. |
| title_short | Modeling the role of gap junctions between excitatory neurons in the developing visual cortex. |
| title_sort | modeling the role of gap junctions between excitatory neurons in the developing visual cortex |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pcbi.1007915&type=printable |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jennifercrodelle modelingtheroleofgapjunctionsbetweenexcitatoryneuronsinthedevelopingvisualcortex AT davidwmclaughlin modelingtheroleofgapjunctionsbetweenexcitatoryneuronsinthedevelopingvisualcortex |