Effects of inhibition on neural network development through activity-dependent neurite outgrowth

Van Oss, C., and Van Ooyen, A. (1997). J. Theor. Biol. 185: 263-280. [Full text: PDF]

Abstract

Empirical studies have demonstrated that electrical activity of the neuron can directly affect the outgrowth of its neurites. In this paper, the implications of activity-dependent neurite outgrowth are studied in a simple two-cell model, containing one excitatory and one inhibitory cell. We show that activity-dependent outgrowth in combination with the presence of inhibition can account for bistability. The attractors, which can be both point and limit cycle attractors, may be associated with `normal' and `pathological' end states of network development. A slight modification of the model makes it also applicable to a range of other activity-dependent processes in neurons, such as changes in the number or efficacy of receptors. The main results of the previous model are also found in the modified model.