How inhibition shapes cortical activity.
Cortical processing reflects the interplay of synaptic excitation and synaptic inhibition. Rapidly accumulating evidence is highlighting the crucial role of inhibition in shaping spontaneous and sensory-evoked cortical activity and thus underscores how a better knowledge of inhibitory circuits is necessary for our understanding of cortical function. We discuss current views of how inhibition regulates the function of cortical neurons and point to a number of important open questions.
Center for Neural Circuits and Behavior, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093-0634, USA. jisaacson@ucsd.edu
Jeffry S
JS
Isaacson
Massimo
M
Scanziani
D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D008564:Membrane Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology