Download Neural Oscillators on the Edge: Harnessing Noise to Promote Stability

Neural Oscillators on the Edge: Harnessing Noise to Promote Stability
David Paydarfar
University of Massachusetts Medical School
Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, Harvard University
Abnormal neural oscillations are implicated in certain disease states, for example
repetitive firing of injured axons evoking painful paresthesia, and rhythmic
discharges of cortical neurons in patients with epilepsy. In other clinical conditions,
the pathological state manifests as a vulnerability of an oscillator to switch off, for
example prolonged pauses in automatic breathing commonly observed in preterm
infants. I will present theory and experimental observations on the initiation and
termination of neural rhythms at the cellular, tissue and organismal levels. The
findings suggest how small appropriately tuned noisy inputs could silence a neural
oscillator or, conversely, could promote rhythmic activity. Noise-sensitive neurons
have intrinsic properties that yield interesting physiological properties on the edge of
a bifurcation, affording remarkable adaptive capacities to circuits that require rapid
and efficienton-off switching; between multiple modes of activity (e.g., quiescence,
repetitive firing, bursting) and between multiple functions (e.g., breathing,
swallowing, coughing, and vocalization). I will illustrate the therapeutic potential of
stochastic stimulation for promoting stability of breathing and preventing central
apnea in preterm infants.