Mixed-mode oscillations and population bursting in the pre-Botzinger complex

作者：Bacak Bartholomew J^*; Kim Taegyo; Smith Jeffrey C; Rubin Jonathan E; Rybak Ilya A

来源：eLife, 2016, 5: e13403.

DOI：10.7554/eLife.13403

This study focuses on computational and theoretical investigations of neuronal activity arising in the pre-Botzinger complex (pre-BetC), a medullary region generating the inspiratory phase of breathing in mammals. A progressive increase of neuronal excitability in medullary slices containing the pre-BotC produces mixed-mode oscillations (MMOs) characterized by large amplitude population bursts alternating with a series of small amplitude bursts. Using two different computational models, we demonstrate that MMOs emerge within a heterogeneous excitatory neural network because of progressive neuronal recruitment and synchronization. The MMO pattern depends on the distributed neuronal excitability, the density and weights of network interconnections, and the cellular properties underlying endogenous bursting. Critically, the latter should provide a reduction of spiking frequency within neuronal bursts with increasing burst frequency and a dependence of the after-burst recovery period on burst amplitude. Our study highlights a novel mechanism by which heterogeneity naturally leads to complex dynamics in rhythmic neuronal populations.

• 出版日期2016-3-14
• 单位NIH