title: The approach of a neuron population firing rate to a new equilibrium: an exact theoretical result.
abstract: The response of a noninteracting population of identical neurons to a step change in steady synaptic input can be analytically calculated exactly from the dynamical equation that describes the population's evolution in time. Here, for model integrate-and-fire neurons that undergo a fixed finite upward shift in voltage in response to each synaptic event, we compare the theoretical prediction with the result of a direct simulation of 90,000 model neurons. The degree of agreement supports the applicability of the population dynamics equation. The theoretical prediction is in the form of a series. Convergence is rapid, so that the full result is well approximated by a few terms.
authors.affiliation: Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10021, USA.
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Knight
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Omurtag
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sirovich
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D011157:Population Dynamics; D013569:Synapses / Q000502:physiology