Payne B R, Lomber S G, Villa A E, Bullier J
Dept of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University School of Medicine, MA 02118, USA.
Trends Neurosci. 1996 Dec;19(12):535-42. doi: 10.1016/s0166-2236(96)10061-8.
Reversible deactivation techniques have shown that the cerebral network: (1) is dynamic, its functions depending on contemporaneous processing elsewhere in the network; (2) is composed of single nodes that contribute to several behaviors; (3) possesses an inherent plasticity that tends to minimize lesion-induced deficits; and (4) comprises feedforward and lateral connections that contribute in different ways to network operations. The next major advances in understanding network operations will probably be made by applying a combination of behavioral, neuron-recording and deactivation techniques. The greatest near-term gains are likely to be made in understanding the contributions that feedback projections make to cerebral network function.
