Linked Life Data

21383190

Source:http://linkedlifedata.com/resource/pubmed/id/21383190

Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:dateCreated
2011-9-14
pubmed:abstractText
I summarize recent computational and experimental work that addresses the inherent variability in the synaptic and intrinsic conductances in normal healthy brains and shows that multiple solutions (sets of parameters) can produce similar circuit performance. I then discuss a number of issues raised by this observation, such as which parameter variations arise from compensatory mechanisms and which reflect insensitivity to those particular parameters. I ask whether networks with different sets of underlying parameters can nonetheless respond reliably to neuromodulation and other global perturbations. At the computational level, I describe a paradigm shift in which it is becoming increasingly common to develop families of models that reflect the variance in the biological data that the models are intended to illuminate rather than single, highly tuned models. On the experimental side, I discuss the inherent limitations of overreliance on mean data and suggest that it is important to look for compensations and correlations among as many system parameters as possible, and between each system parameter and circuit performance. This second paradigm shift will require moving away from measurements of each system component in isolation but should reveal important previously undescribed principles in the organization of complex systems such as brains.
pubmed:grant
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Sep
pubmed:issn
1091-6490
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Electronic
pubmed:day
13
pubmed:volume
108 Suppl 3
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
15542-8
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed:year
2011
pubmed:articleTitle
Variability, compensation, and modulation in neurons and circuits.
pubmed:affiliation
Department of Biology and Volen Center, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02454, USA. marder@brandeis.edu
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Review, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural