An Analysis of Connectivity in a Neuronal Population
Time and place
1 PM on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010; NAC 6/113
Prof. Asohan Amarasingham (Rutgers, Newark)
Abstract
Neuronal output takes the form of spike trains (sequences of action potentials), but little is known about how neurons functionally interact through their spike trains during behavior. A chief barrier is experimental: simultaneous neuronal recordings are high-dimensional, yet they sample the activity of a relatively small proportion of the neurons of interest. This has strong implications for statistical modeling and these data sets thus pose considerable mathematical and statistical challenges. We will describe a recent study in which we combined simultaneous recordings of medial prefrontal cortex neurons in behaving rats with novel statistical analysis to assess the evidence for functional signatures of anatomical and physiological connectivity in that neuronal population. The scientific setting will provide a context in which to describe recurring issues in the analysis of neurophysiological data sets, as well as some of the tools we have developed to facilitate their analysis.
