Alain Destexhe

Le « dynamic-clamp » : quand les modèles théoriques interagissent directement avec des neurones vivants pour en révéler les propriétés intégratives

Reference 1 Version 1 Date 01/12/2011

In cerebral cortex in vivo, neurons permanently receive thousands of synaptic inputs, establishing a “high-conductance state”, in which the integrative properties of neurons are profoundly modified. It is thus necessary to understand such states in order to have access to the mechanisms of information processing in cerebral cortex. This paper reviews a recent technique, the “dynamic-clamp”, in which theoretical models directly interact with living cells. This technique allows studying high-conductance states in neurons by recreating synaptic inputs completely controlled by the theoretical models. It opens the path to understand neuronal information processing through novel paradigms where theory and experiments cannot be dissociated.