This image artistically depicts a snapshot taken when each neuron in a cortical population is subject to the same periodic stimulus. The darker lines running from left to right represent the response amplitude and phase of each individual neuron. In this study (see Tchumatchenko and Wolf, 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002239) the authors used a threshold model framework that accounts for the collective encoding of dynamical stimuli by a population of cortical neurons. The paper presents an analytical approach to understanding the key parameters determining the spike dynamics in response to time changing stimuli that are presented in the mean or the variance of the input current.
Image Credit: Tatjana Tchumatchenko, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany.
Editorials
Ten Simple Rules for Getting Involved in Your Scientific Community
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002232
Teaching Bioinformatics at the Secondary School Level
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002242
Ten Simple Rules for Teaching Bioinformatics at the High School Level
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002243
Ten Simple Rules for Developing a Short Bioinformatics Training Course
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002245
Education
A First Attempt to Bring Computational Biology into Advanced High School Biology Classrooms
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002244
Perspective
BioStar: An Online Question & Answer Resource for the Bioinformatics Community
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002216
Research Articles
Receptive Field Inference with Localized Priors
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002219
Conformation Regulation of the X Chromosome Inactivation Center: A Model
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002229
STDP Allows Fast Rate-Modulated Coding with Poisson-Like Spike Trains
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002231
Grid Cells, Place Cells, and Geodesic Generalization for Spatial Reinforcement Learning
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002235
Unbiased Simulations Reveal the Inward-Facing Conformation of the Human Serotonin Transporter and Na+ Ion Release
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002246
LTS and FS Inhibitory Interneurons, Short-Term Synaptic Plasticity, and Cortical Circuit Dynamics
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002248
Second Order Dimensionality Reduction Using Minimum and Maximum Mutual Information Models
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002249
A Sparse Coding Model with Synaptically Local Plasticity and Spiking Neurons Can Account for the Diverse Shapes of V1 Simple Cell Receptive Fields
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002250
Metabolic Regulation in Progression to Autoimmune Diabetes
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 27, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002257
Accelerated Profile HMM Searches
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002195
Transmembrane Helix Dynamics of Bacterial Chemoreceptors Supports a Piston Model of Signalling
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002204
A Neurodynamic Account of Spontaneous Behaviour
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002221
Decoding Complex Chemical Mixtures with a Physical Model of a Sensor Array
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002224
Replication Timing: A Fingerprint for Cell Identity and Pluripotency
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002225
Patient-Specific Data Fusion Defines Prognostic Cancer Subtypes
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002227
A Semi-Quantitative, Synteny-Based Method to Improve Functional Predictions for Hypothetical and Poorly Annotated Bacterial and Archaeal Genes
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002230
Near-Native Protein Loop Sampling Using Nonparametric Density Estimation Accommodating Sparcity
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002234
Integrated Information Increases with Fitness in the Evolution of Animats
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002236
Explaining Observed Infection and Antibody Age-Profiles in Populations with Urogenital Schistosomiasis
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002237
Ensemble-Based Computational Approach Discriminates Functional Activity of p53 Cancer and Rescue Mutants
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002238
Representation of Dynamical Stimuli in Populations of Threshold Neurons
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002239
Most Random Gene Expression Signatures Are Significantly Associated with Breast Cancer Outcome
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002240
NHE Inhibition Does Not Improve Na+ or Ca2+ Overload During Reperfusion: Using Modeling to Illuminate the Mechanisms Underlying a Therapeutic Failure
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002241
The Effects of Dominance on Leadership and Energetic Gain: A Dynamic Game between Pairs of Social Foragers
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 20, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002252
A Peptide Filtering Relation Quantifies MHC Class I Peptide Optimization
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002144
Inversion of the Balance between Hydrophobic and Hydrogen Bonding Interactions in Protein Folding and Aggregation
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002169
Large-Scale Conformational Changes of Trypanosoma cruzi Proline Racemase Predicted by Accelerated Molecular Dynamics Simulation
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002178
Barriers to Diffusion in Dendrites and Estimation of Calcium Spread Following Synaptic Inputs
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002182
Evidence for Composite Cost Functions in Arm Movement Planning: An Inverse Optimal Control Approach
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002183
Transmission Selects for HIV-1 Strains of Intermediate Virulence: A Modelling Approach
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002185
Heat Shock Partially Dissociates the Overlapping Modules of the Yeast Protein-Protein Interaction Network: A Systems Level Model of Adaptation
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002187
Neural Computation via Neural Geometry: A Place Code for Inter-whisker Timing in the Barrel Cortex?
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002188
Identification of Potent EGFR Inhibitors from TCM Database@Taiwan
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002189
Quantifying Intramolecular Binding in Multivalent Interactions: A Structure-Based Synergistic Study on Grb2-Sos1 Complex
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002192
Ligand-Induced Modulation of the Free-Energy Landscape of G Protein-Coupled Receptors Explored by Adaptive Biasing Techniques
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002193
Assessing Vaccination Sentiments with Online Social Media: Implications for Infectious Disease Dynamics and Control
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002199
The Dynamics of Supply and Demand in mRNA Translation
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002203
Brain Rhythms Reveal a Hierarchical Network Organization
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002207
Computation of Steady-State Probability Distributions in Stochastic Models of Cellular Networks
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002209
Number and Size Distribution of Colorectal Adenomas under the Multistage Clonal Expansion Model of Cancer
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002213
Chemical Basis of Metabolic Network Organization
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002214
Modelling Reveals Kinetic Advantages of Co-Transcriptional Splicing
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002215
Thousands of Rab GTPases for the Cell Biologist
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002217
Bacteria Modulate the CD8+ T Cell Epitope Repertoire of Host Cytosol-Exposed Proteins to Manipulate the Host Immune Response
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002220
Coupled Information Diffusion–Pest Dynamics Models Predict Delayed Benefits of Farmer Cooperation in Pest Management Programs
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 13, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002222
Conflicting Biomedical Assumptions for Mathematical Modeling: The Case of Cancer Metastasis
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 6, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002132
Change in Allosteric Network Affects Binding Affinities of PDZ Domains: Analysis through Perturbation Response Scanning
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 6, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002154
A Multi-cell, Multi-scale Model of Vertebrate Segmentation and Somite Formation
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 6, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002155
Coexistence of Lateral and Co-Tuned Inhibitory Configurations in Cortical Networks
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 6, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002161
Model Cortical Association Fields Account for the Time Course and Dependence on Target Complexity of Human Contour Perception
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 6, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002162
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Hydrophobicity and Charge Shape Cellular Metabolite Concentrations
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Formation of Regulatory Modules by Local Sequence Duplication
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Identification of a Novel Class of Farnesylation Targets by Structure-Based Modeling of Binding Specificity
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Synchronous Chaos and Broad Band Gamma Rhythm in a Minimal Multi-Layer Model of Primary Visual Cortex
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Three People Can Synchronize as Coupled Oscillators during Sports Activities
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Local Orientation and the Evolution of Foraging: Changes in Decision Making Can Eliminate Evolutionary Trade-offs
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B Cell Activation Triggered by the Formation of the Small Receptor Cluster: A Computational Study
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 6, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002197
Evolution of Networks for Body Plan Patterning; Interplay of Modularity, Robustness and Evolvability
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 6, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002208
Estimating the Relevance of World Disturbances to Explain Savings, Interference and Long-Term Motor Adaptation Effects
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 6, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002210
Automatic Morphological Subtyping Reveals New Roles of Caspases in Mitochondrial Dynamics
PLOS Computational Biology: published October 6, 2011 | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002212