Biomedical subjects

Mark C W van Rossum

Publications and source records attributed to Mark C W van Rossum.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Investigating the functional interaction between semantic and episodic memory: convergent behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for the role of familiarity.

Throughout our lives we acquire general knowledge about the world (semantic memory) while also retaining memories of specific events (episodic memory). Although these two forms of memory have been dissociated on the basis of neuropsychological data, it is clear that they typically function together during normal cognition. The goal of the present study was to investigate this interaction. One influence of semantic memory on episodic retrieval is 'Levels Of Processing'; recognition is enhanced when stimuli are processed in a semantically meaningful way. Studies examining this semantic processing advantage have largely concluded that semantic memory augments episodic retrieval primarily by enhancing recollection. The present study provides strong evidence for an alternative relationship between semantic and episodic memory. We employed a manipulation of the semantic coherence of to-be-remembered information (semantically related vs. unrelated word pairs) during an associative recognition memory test. Results revealed that associative recognition is significantly enhanced for semantically coherent material, and behavioral estimates (using the process dissociation procedure) demonstrated concomitant changes in the contribution of familiarity to retrieval. Neuroimaging data (event-related potentials recorded at test) also revealed a significant increase in familiarity based retrieval. The electrophysiological correlate of familiarity (the mid-frontal ERP old/new effect) was larger for semantically related compared to unrelated word pairs, but no difference was present in the electrophysiological correlate of recollection (the left parietal old/new effect). We conclude that semantic memory and episodic memory do indeed interact in normal functioning, and not only by modulating recollection, but also by enhancing familiarity.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2006

Excitability changes that complement Hebbian learning.

Experiments have shown that the intrinsic excitability of neurons is not constant, but varies with physiological stimulation and during various learning paradigms. We study a model of Hebbian synaptic plasticity which is supplemented with intrinsic excitability changes. The excitability changes transcend time delays and provide a memory trace. Periods of selective enhanced excitability can thus assist in forming associations between temporally separated events, such as occur in trace conditioning. We demonstrate that simple bidirectional networks with excitability changes can learn trace conditioning paradigms.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

The optimal synapse for sparse, binary signals in the rod pathway.

The sparsity of photons at very low light levels necessitates a nonlinear synaptic transfer function between the rod photoreceptors and the rod-bipolar cells. We examine different ways to characterize the performance of the pathway: the error rate, two variants of the mutual information, and the signal-to-noise ratio. Simulation of the pathway shows that these approaches yield substantially different performance at very low light levels and that maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio yields the best performance when judged from simulated images. The results are compared to recent data.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Fast propagation of firing rates through layered networks of noisy neurons.

We model the propagation of neural activity through a feedforward network consisting of layers of integrate-and-fire neurons. In the presence of a noisy background current and spontaneous background firing, firing rate modulations are transmitted linearly through many layers, with a delay proportional to the synaptic time constant and with little distortion. Single neuron properties and firing statistics are in agreement with physiological data. The proposed mode of propagation allows for fast computation with population coding based on firing rates, as is demonstrated with a local motion detector.

Computer Simulation↗

PubMed2002

Activity deprivation reduces miniature IPSC amplitude by decreasing the number of postsynaptic GABA(A) receptors clustered at neocortical synapses.

Maintaining the proper balance between excitation and inhibition is necessary to prevent cortical circuits from either falling silent or generating epileptiform activity. One mechanism through which cortical networks maintain this balance is through the activity-dependent regulation of inhibition, but whether this is achieved primarily through changes in synapse number or synaptic strength is not clear. Previously, we found that 2 d of activity deprivation increased the amplitude of miniature EPSCs (mEPSCs) onto cultured visual cortical pyramidal neurons. Here we find that this same manipulation decreases the amplitude of mIPSCs. This occurs with no change in single-channel conductance but is accompanied by a reduction in the average number of channels open during the mIPSC peak and a reduction in the intensity of staining for GABA(A) receptors (GABA(A)Rs) at postsynaptic sites. In addition, the number of synaptic sites that express detectable levels of GABA(A)Rs was decreased by approximately 50% after activity blockade, although there was no reduction in the total number of presynaptic contacts. These data suggest that activity deprivation reduces cortical inhibition by reducing both the number of GABA(A)Rs clustered at synaptic sites and the number of functional inhibitory synapses. Because excitatory and inhibitory synaptic currents are regulated in opposite directions by activity blockade, these data suggest that the balance between excitation and inhibition is dynamically regulated by ongoing activity.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Spike-timing-dependent plasticity: common themes and divergent vistas.

Recent experimental observations of spike-timing-dependent synaptic plasticity (STDP) have revitalized the study of synaptic learning rules. The most surprising aspect of these experiments lies in the observation that synapses activated shortly after the occurrence of a postsynaptic spike are weakened. Thus, synaptic plasticity is sensitive to the temporal ordering of pre- and postsynaptic activation. This temporal asymmetry has been suggested to underlie a range of learning tasks. In the first part of this review we highlight some of the common themes from a range of findings in the framework of predictive coding. As an example of how this principle can be used in a learning task, we discuss a recent model of cortical map formation. In the second part of the review, we point out some of the differences in STDP models and their functional consequences. We discuss how differences in the weight-dependence, the time-constants and the non-linear properties of learning rules give rise to distinct computational functions. In light of these computational issues raised, we review current experimental findings and suggest further experiments to resolve some controversies.

Action Potentials↗