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CELLULAR NEUROPHYSIOLOGY LABORATORY

MOLECULAR BIOPHYSICS UNIT

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE

BANGALORE 560012, INDIA
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Research focus

 

The brain is a complex system. Abstractions offering parsimonious explanations and oversimplifications become essential in characterizing certain aspects of this multi-scale system. However, it is critical that a whole-some understanding of this complex system isn’t stifled by such oversimplifications.

A central theme of research in this laboratory is that complexity is an essential device of evolution towards achieving physiological robustness. From this perspective, complexity is embraced as the lynchpin that drives robustness of the nervous system, rather than being shunned as an inconvenience that makes analyses difficult. Work in this laboratory focuses on remedying certain historical oversimplifications in single-neuron and network physiology:

1.     Oversimplification: Neurons are simple algebraic summation units with a threshold nonlinearity.

Remedy: Active dendrites bestow complex functional capabilities upon single neurons.

2.     Oversimplification: Neural circuits are made of repeating homogeneous computational units.

Remedy: Neural circuits manifest several forms of heterogeneities (intrinsic, synaptic, structural, and afferent), which play crucial physiological roles.

3.     Oversimplification: Learning and memory in biological systems is accomplished exclusively through synaptic changes.

Remedy: Biological plasticity is ubiquitous and is not limited to synapses. Ubiquitous plasticity, however, does not mean arbitrary plasticity. There are strong constraints on how different forms of plasticity interact towards achieving stable continual learning.

4.     Oversimplification: There is a unique solution to how biological learning is accomplished, and our goal is to find that solution.

Remedy: Complexity in a system is characterized by several functionally specialized subsystems that show a high degree of functional integration when they interact with each other. An important characteristic of complex biological systems is degeneracy, the ability of structurally different subsystems to yield the same functional outcome. Degeneracy is ubiquitous across all scales of the nervous system.

5.     Oversimplification: Extracellular local field potentials exclusively reflect chemical synaptic activation.

Remedy: Several sub- and supra-threshold active dendritic channels and other transmembrane currents, including those activated by gap junctional (electrical synaptic) inputs, also contribute to local field potentials.

6.     Oversimplification: Glial cells are glue.

Remedy: Glial cells are actively involved in information processing, plasticity, and learning.

We employ electrophysiological, imaging, theoretical, and computational tools towards remedying these and other oversimplifications.


Click on the images below for research articles from the laboratory
Degeneracy Symposium Review
JNS LOGO
Degeneracy in morphologically realistic granule cell models
JNP LOGO
Network motifs in cellular neurophysiology
TINS LOGO
Theta ripples in CA1
JPhys LOGO
HCNReview
Proteins LOGO
CaThetaKO
FCNS LOGO
Degeneracy-epilepsy
CommsBio LOGO
SCN
iScience LOGO
StoBif
PNAS LOGO
Complex Spike Bursting
JPhys LOGO
EIC Degeneracy
CONB LOGO
PlasticityHeterogeneity
HIPO LOGO
DG Intrinsic Plasticity
iScience LOGO
Active LFP
NSC LOGO
Plasticity Manifolds
CONB LOGO
Grid Cell Resonance
eLife LOGO
Place Cell Information
Neural Networks LOGO
DG Subthreshold
Physiologial Reports LOGO
DG VKM
Current Research in Neurobiology LOGO
FPGA Navigation
Neural Networks LOGO
EPC
PR Research LOGO
DG Heterogeneities
JNP LOGO
STA Degeneracy
Sci Rep
Place Cell Morphology
BSAF LOGO
DegeneracyReview
HIPO LOGO
Active Microdomains
PLoS Comp Biol
DGDecorrelation
HIPO LOGO
AGADP
MOLN LOGO
SpatialDispersion
JPhys LOGO
SC Degeneracy
J. Neurophysiology
STA Soma
J Neurophysiology
Violin
Front. Cell. Neurosci.
STPGSA
JPhys LOGO
ActiveSEP
PNAS LOGO
CaThetaSWR
eNeuro
CaThetaSWR
eNeuro
STACDW
J. Physiol
HCNLFP
PNAS LOGO
BCMGSA
J. Neurosci.
hIP3
J. Neurophysiol.
IRD-Morphology
Front. Cell. Neurosci.
HCNHighG
J. Neurophysiol
MapGSA
PNAS LOGO
MultiSTA
JNSLogo
IAIP3R
J. Physiol

ghCDPR
POne

IRD GSA
J. Physiol
Maps
J. Neurophysiol


J. Neurophysiol

 



 
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