Dynamic Aspects of Neural Circuits: Small Circuits in the Dish and Big Circuits on Paper

Two basic issues concerning neural circuits are the achievement of persistent, stable outputs and the generation of defined, rhythmic activity. I will address these issues using a combination of experimental studies on model systems and theoretical studies on associative neural networks. 

Circuit that exhibit bistable outputs were constructed using the techniques of Aplysia cell culture. These circuits form the building blocks of large network. They allowed us to investigate issue such as neural bias levels and thresholds.