Zemianek Jill M, Lee Sangmook, Guaraldi Mary, Shea Thomas B
Center for Cellular Neurobiology & Neurodegeneration Research, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Lowell, MA 01854, USA.
Int J Dev Neurosci. 2012 Nov;30(7):602-6. doi: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2012.08.001. Epub 2012 Aug 13.
Neuronal networks established on micro-electrode arrays provide useful models for synaptic plasticity. Whether or not this represents a facet of learning is debated since ex vivo networks are deprived of organismal interaction with the environment. We compared developmental signaling of such networks with and without stimulation with a prerecorded synaptic signal from another mature culture as a model of sensory input. Unstimulated networks displayed a developmental increase in individual signals that eventually declined, yielding a pattern containing organized bursts of signaling. Minimal stimulation, to model the onset of sensory input hastened the onset of developmental signaling. However, the overall developmental pattern of stimulated networks, including the total number and type of signals as well as the length of this developmental period, was identical to that of unstimulated networks. One interpretation of these findings is that ongoing plasticity may be essential to establish an appropriate platform for learning once sensory input ensues.
在微电极阵列上建立的神经网络为突触可塑性提供了有用的模型。由于离体网络缺乏与环境的机体相互作用，因此这种模型是否代表学习的一个方面仍存在争议。我们将此类网络在有或没有来自另一种成熟培养物的预先记录的突触信号刺激（作为感觉输入模型）的情况下的发育信号进行了比较。未受刺激的网络显示出个体信号在发育过程中增加，最终下降，产生一种包含有组织信号爆发的模式。为模拟感觉输入的开始而进行的最小刺激加速了发育信号的开始。然而，受刺激网络的整体发育模式，包括信号的总数和类型以及这个发育时期的长度，与未受刺激的网络相同。这些发现的一种解释是，一旦感觉输入出现，持续的可塑性对于建立一个适当的学习平台可能至关重要。
