ANALYSIS OF POPULATION PHENOMENA IN NEURONAL NETWORKS WITH ELECTROPHYSIOLOGY AND COMPUTER SIMULATIONS

Two types of collective neuronal behaviors can be produced experimentally in brain slices that contain only thousands of neurons: events resembling epileptic seizures in vivo, and events resembling fast EEG waves in the gamma frequency range (> 20 Hz). Computer simulations of single neurons, and of networks of neurons, have contributed to our understanding of the physiological principles that underlie both types of collective behavior.