Synaptic excitation produces a long-lasting rebound potentiation of inhibitory synaptic signals in cerebellar Purkinje cells.

Persistent changes in synaptic efficacy are thought to underlie the formation of learning and memory in the brain. High-frequency activation of an afferent excitatory fibre system can induce long-term potentiation, and conjunctive activation of two distinct excitatory synaptic inputs to the cerebellar Purkinje cells can lead to long-term depression of the synaptic activity of one of the inputs. Here we report a new form of neural plasticity in which activation of an excitatory synaptic input can induce a potentiation of inhibitory synaptic signals to the same cell. In cerebellar Purkinje cells stimulation of the excitatory climbing fibre synapses is followed by a long-lasting (up to 75 min) potentiation of gamma-aminobutyric acid A (GABAA) receptor-mediated inhibitory postsynaptic currents (i.p.s.cs), a phenomenon that we term rebound potentiation. Using whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in combination with fluorometric video imaging of intracellular calcium ion concentration, we find that a climbing fibre-induced transient increase in postsynaptic calcium concentration triggers the induction of rebound potentiation. Because the response of Purkinje cells to bath-applied exogenous GABA is also potentiated after climbing fibre-stimulation with a time course similar to that of the rebound potentiation of i.p.s.cs, we conclude that the potentiation is caused by a calcium-dependent upregulation of postsynaptic GABAA receptor function. We propose that rebound potentiation is a mechanism by which in vivo block of climbing fibre activity induces an increase in excitability in Purkinje cells. Moreover, rebound potentiation of i.p.s.cs is a cellular mechanism which, in addition to the long-term depression of parallel fibre synaptic activity, may have an important role for motor learning in the cerebellum.     

Spatially asymmetric reorganization of inhibition establishes a motion-sensitive circuit

Spatial asymmetries in neural connectivity have an important role in creating basic building blocks of neuronal processing. A key circuit module of directionally selective (DS) retinal ganglion cells is a spatially asymmetric inhibitory input from starburst amacrine cells. It is not known how and when this circuit asymmetry is established during development. Here we photostimulate mouse starburst cells targeted with channelrhodopsin-2 (refs 6-8) while recording from a single genetically labelled type of DS cell. We follow the spatial distribution of synaptic strengths between starburst and DS cells during early postnatal development before these neurons can respond to a physiological light stimulus, and confirm connectivity by monosynaptically restricted trans-synaptic rabies viral tracing. We show that asymmetry develops rapidly over a 2-day period through an intermediate state in which random or symmetric synaptic connections have been established. The development of asymmetry involves the spatially selective reorganization of inhibitory synaptic inputs. Intriguingly, the spatial distribution of excitatory synaptic inputs from starburst cells is significantly more symmetric than that of the inhibitory inputs at the end of this developmental period. Our work demonstrates a rapid developmental switch from a symmetric to asymmetric input distribution for inhibition in the neural circuit of a principal cell.     

Integration of quanta in cerebellar granule cells during sensory processing

To understand the computations performed by the input layers of cortical structures, it is essential to determine the relationship between sensory-evoked synaptic input and the resulting pattern of output spikes. In the cerebellum, granule cells constitute the input layer, translating mossy fibre signals into parallel fibre input to Purkinje cells. Until now, their small size and dense packing have precluded recordings from individual granule cells in vivo. Here we use whole-cell patch-clamp recordings to show the relationship between mossy fibre synaptic currents evoked by somatosensory stimulation and the resulting granule cell output patterns. Granule cells exhibited a low ongoing firing rate, due in part to dampening of excitability by a tonic inhibitory conductance mediated by GABA(A) (gamma-aminobutyric acid type A) receptors. Sensory stimulation produced bursts of mossy fibre excitatory postsynaptic currents (EPSCs) that summate to trigger bursts of spikes. Notably, these spike bursts were evoked by only a few quantal EPSCs, and yet spontaneous mossy fibre inputs triggered spikes only when inhibition was reduced. Our results reveal that the input layer of the cerebellum balances exquisite sensitivity with a high signal-to-noise ratio. Granule cell bursts are optimally suited to trigger glutamate receptor activation and plasticity at parallel fibre synapses, providing a link between input representation and memory storage in the cerebellum.     

涡街流量信号中管道振动噪声的分析与处理

研究了获取管道振动噪声干扰特征的方法,介绍了基于加速度传感器的管道振动信号的采集.结合涡街流量信号和管道振动信号的频谱分析结果,指出了管道振动信号频率与涡街流量信号的主要干扰分量频率直接相关.研究表明,可通过获取管道振动加速度信号特征,来间接获得涡街流量信号中最主要噪声的频率特征.基于这一研究结论,以管道振动信号的特征信息为参考输入,验证了通过自适应滤波对涡街流量信号中振动噪声的滤波方法.     

两种识别复杂噪声源的多输入频域模型

本文按多输入/单输出(MISO)频域模型对一台疲劳试验机工作状态下的噪声进行了测量与计算,获得了各部件振动辐射噪声的动态特性和有关数据,同时论述了用多输入/二输出(MITO)频域模型对双麦克风声强法的改进,以解决在机器中同时存在的非结构振动噪声源(如空气动力噪声、电磁噪声)以及互相耦合的多个声源的定量识别问题。     

Associative long-term depression in the hippocampus induced by hebbian covariance

A brief, high-frequency activation of excitatory synapses in the hippocampus produces a long-lasting increase in synaptic strengths called long-term potentiation (LTP). A test input, which by itself does not have a long-lasting effect on synaptic strengths, can be potentiated through association when it is activated at the same time as a separate conditioning input. Neural network modelling studies have also predicted that synaptic strengths should be weakened when test and conditioning inputs are anti-correlated. Evidence for such heterosynaptic depression in the hippocampus has been found for inputs that are inactive or weakly active during the stimulation of a conditioning input, but this depression does not depend on any pattern of test input activity and does not seem to last as long as LTP. We report here an associative long-term depression (LTD) in field CA1 that is produced when a low-frequency test input is negatively correlated in time with a high-frequency conditioning input. LTD of synaptic strength is also produced by activating presynaptic terminals while a postsynaptic neuron is hyperpolarized. This confirms theoretical predictions that the mechanism for associative LTD is homosynaptic and follows a hebbian covariance rule.     

A new cellular mechanism for coupling inputs arriving at different cortical layers

Pyramidal neurons in layer 5 of the neocortex of the brain extend their axons and dendrites into all layers. They are also unusual in having both an axonal and a dendritic zone for the initiation of action potentials. Distal dendritic inputs, which normally appear greatly attenuated at the axon, must cross a high threshold at the dendritic initiation zone to evoke calcium action potentials but can then generate bursts of axonal action potentials. Here we show that a single back-propagating sodium action potential generated in the axon facilitates the initiation of these calcium action potentials when it coincides with distal dendritic input within a time window of several milliseconds. Inhibitory dendritic input can selectively block the initiation of dendritic calcium action potentials, preventing bursts of axonal action potentials. Thus, excitatory and inhibitory postsynaptic potentials arising in the distal dendrites can exert significantly greater control over action potential initiation in the axon than would be expected from their electrotonically isolated locations. The coincidence of a single back-propagating action potential with a subthreshold distal excitatory postsynaptic potential to evoke a burst of axonal action potentials represents a new mechanism by which the main cortical output neurons can associate inputs arriving at different cortical layers.     

Precise inhibition is essential for microsecond interaural time difference coding

Microsecond differences in the arrival time of a sound at the two ears (interaural time differences, ITDs) are the main cue for localizing low-frequency sounds in space. Traditionally, ITDs are thought to be encoded by an array of coincidence-detector neurons, receiving excitatory inputs from the two ears via axons of variable length ('delay lines'), to create a topographic map of azimuthal auditory space. Compelling evidence for the existence of such a map in the mammalian lTD detector, the medial superior olive (MSO), however, is lacking. Equally puzzling is the role of a--temporally very precise glycine--mediated inhibitory input to MSO neurons. Using in vivo recordings from the MSO of the Mongolian gerbil, we found the responses of ITD-sensitive neurons to be inconsistent with the idea of a topographic map of auditory space. Moreover, local application of glycine and its antagonist strychnine by iontophoresis (through glass pipette electrodes, by means of an electric current) revealed that precisely timed glycine-controlled inhibition is a critical part of the mechanism by which the physiologically relevant range of ITDs is encoded in the MSO. A computer model, simulating the response of a coincidence-detector neuron with bilateral excitatory inputs and a temporally precise contralateral inhibitory input, supports this conclusion.     

脉冲噪声下基于自适应特征值分解的时延估计新方法

依据分数低阶统计量理论和噪声特征,提出一种鲁棒性自适应特征值分解（RAED）时延估计方法,扩展了自适应特征值分解（AED）时延估方法的使用环境．该算法在脉冲噪声环境下,组合两个接收信号,使其共变矩阵最小特征值对应的特征向量为信道的估计,并基于广义归一化最小平均p范数（广义NLMP）方法自适应得到该特征向量,从而获得时延估计．计算机仿真表明该方法在脉冲噪声环境下具有较好的鲁棒性．     

A frequency-dependent switch from inhibition to excitation in a hippocampal unitary circuit

The hippocampus, a brain structure essential for memory and cognition, is classically represented as a trisynaptic excitatory circuit. Recent findings challenge this view, particularly with regard to the mossy fibre input to CA3, the second synapse in the trisynaptic pathway. Thus, the powerful mossy fibre input to CA3 pyramidal cells might mediate both synaptic excitation and inhibition. Here we show, by recording from connected cell pairs in rat entorhinal-hippocampal slice cultures, that single action potentials in a dentate granule cell evoke a net inhibitory signal in a pyramidal cell. The hyperpolarization is due to disynaptic feedforward inhibition, which overwhelms monosynaptic excitation. Interestingly, this net inhibitory synaptic response changes to an excitatory signal when the frequency of presynaptic action potentials increases. The process responsible for this switch involves the facilitation of monosynaptic excitatory transmission coupled with rapid depression of inhibitory circuits. This ability to immediately switch the polarity of synaptic responses constitutes a novel synaptic mechanism, which might be crucial to the state-dependent processing of information in associative hippocampal networks.     

Functional mapping of single spines in cortical neurons in vivo

The individual functional properties and spatial arrangement of afferent synaptic inputs on dendrites have a critical role in the processing of information by neurons in the mammalian brain. Although recent work has identified visually-evoked local dendritic calcium signals in the rodent visual cortex, sensory-evoked signalling on the level of dendritic spines, corresponding to individual afferent excitatory synapses, remains unexplored. Here we used a new variant of high-resolution two-photon imaging to detect sensory-evoked calcium transients in single dendritic spines of mouse cortical neurons in vivo. Calcium signals evoked by sound stimulation required the activation of NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors. Active spines are widely distributed on basal and apical dendrites and pure-tone stimulation at different frequencies revealed both narrowly and widely tuned spines. Notably, spines tuned for different frequencies were highly interspersed on the same dendrites: even neighbouring spines were mostly tuned to different frequencies. Thus, our results demonstrate that NMDA-receptor-dependent single-spine synaptic inputs to the same dendrite are highly heterogeneous. Furthermore, our study opens the way for in vivo mapping of functionally defined afferent sensory inputs with single-synapse resolution.     

Adaptive regulation of neuronal excitability by a voltage-independent potassium conductance

Many neurons receive a continuous, or 'tonic', synaptic input, which increases their membrane conductance, and so modifies the spatial and temporal integration of excitatory signals. In cerebellar granule cells, although the frequency of inhibitory synaptic currents is relatively low, the spillover of synaptically released GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) gives rise to a persistent conductance mediated by the GABA A receptor that also modifies the excitability of granule cells. Here we show that this tonic conductance is absent in granule cells that lack the alpha6 and delta-subunits of the GABAA receptor. The response of these granule cells to excitatory synaptic input remains unaltered, owing to an increase in a 'leak' conductance, which is present at rest, with properties characteristic of the two-pore-domain K+ channel TASK-1 (refs 9,10,11,12). Our results highlight the importance of tonic inhibition mediated by GABAA receptors, loss of which triggers a form of homeostatic plasticity leading to a change in the magnitude of a voltage-independent K + conductance that maintains normal neuronal behaviour.     

α稳定噪声下基于随机共振的微弱诱发电位潜伏期延长检测

提出了一种基于分数低阶统计量及随机共振技术的鲁棒性时问延迟估计新方法--随机共振共变时间延迟估计(SRCTDE)算法,用于在低混合信噪比条件下及a稳定噪声下微弱诱发电位信号潜伏期延长的检测.SRCTDE算法首先利用带嗓诱发电位信号与双稳态非线性动力系统之间的随机共振效应提高参考及待测诱发电位信号的混合信噪比,在最大对称...     

遗传算法的双线性模型参数辨识

本文以遗传算法为基础 ,提出了一种辨识双线性离散动态系统模型参数的方法。该方法能够有效地克服噪声的污染 ,获得双线性系统参数的无偏估计值。应用该算法对双线性系统进行仿真表明 ,该方法辨识精度高 ,稳定性好     

基于变步长随机共振的弱信号检测技术

针对绝热近似小参数随机共振难以满足工程实践中大参数下的弱信号检测，以及单一频率的共振分析在实际应用中的局限性问题，提出了一种变步长随机共振数值算法．该方法通过调整计算步长，使随机共振理论同时适用于犬、小参数条件下的弱信号特征提取．计算机仿真结果表明，对变步长随机共振后的信号作幅值谱和小波分析，均能准确得到低信噪比信号中的多个有用成分，充分证明该算法在大参数条件下可对弱信号中的多个特征频率产生共振输出．同时，变步长随机共振也可以有效抑制信号小波分解中由强噪声引起的边频干扰，提高小波分析在低信噪比信号检测中的可靠性．     

一种改进的解相关LMS自适应算法

针对变步长LMS自适应滤波算法在输入信号高度相关时,收敛速度下降导致性能下降的问题,提出了一种改进的解相关LMS自适应算法,该算法引入解相关原理和归一化处理,用输入向量的正交分量来更新滤波器权系数,有效加快了算法的收敛速度,且稳态误差小,使得算法在有色输入和大范围的动态输入下都能保持良好性能.     

Adaptive filtering enhances information transmission in visual cortex

Sensory neuroscience seeks to understand how the brain encodes natural environments. However, neural coding has largely been studied using simplified stimuli. In order to assess whether the brain's coding strategy depends on the stimulus ensemble, we apply a new information-theoretic method that allows unbiased calculation of neural filters (receptive fields) from responses to natural scenes or other complex signals with strong multipoint correlations. In the cat primary visual cortex we compare responses to natural inputs with those to noise inputs matched for luminance and contrast. We find that neural filters adaptively change with the input ensemble so as to increase the information carried by the neural response about the filtered stimulus. Adaptation affects the spatial frequency composition of the filter, enhancing sensitivity to under-represented frequencies in agreement with optimal encoding arguments. Adaptation occurs over 40 s to many minutes, longer than most previously reported forms of adaptation.     

Balanced inhibition underlies tuning and sharpens spike timing in auditory cortex

Neurons in the primary auditory cortex are tuned to the intensity and specific frequencies of sounds, but the synaptic mechanisms underlying this tuning remain uncertain. Inhibition seems to have a functional role in the formation of cortical receptive fields, because stimuli often suppress similar or neighbouring responses, and pharmacological blockade of inhibition broadens tuning curves. Here we use whole-cell recordings in vivo to disentangle the roles of excitatory and inhibitory activity in the tone-evoked responses of single neurons in the auditory cortex. The excitatory and inhibitory receptive fields cover almost exactly the same areas, in contrast to the predictions of classical lateral inhibition models. Thus, although inhibition is typically as strong as excitation, it is not necessary to establish tuning, even in the receptive field surround. However, inhibition and excitation occurred in a precise and stereotyped temporal sequence: an initial barrage of excitatory input was rapidly quenched by inhibition, truncating the spiking response within a few (1-4) milliseconds. Balanced inhibition might thus serve to increase the temporal precision and thereby reduce the randomness of cortical operation, rather than to increase noise as has been proposed previously.     

基于小波变换的高分辨率地震信号瞬时参数提取方法

小波变换在时域以及频域具有良好的局域化特征,可用来实现对地震信号瞬时振幅、相位、频率等瞬时参数的提取.由于小波变换具有去噪的功能和分频处理的特点,在小波域提取的瞬时特征具有很好的抗噪性和可靠性.对小波变换提取地震信号瞬时参数的方法进行改进,通过对地震信号求导来增加其主频,对求导后的地震信号进行小波变换,从而得到高分辨率地震信号的瞬时参数.     

Spatial structure of cone inputs to receptive fields in primate lateral geniculate nucleus.

Human colour vision depends on three classes of cone photoreceptors, those sensitive to short (S), medium (M) or long (L) wavelengths, and on how signals from these cones are combined by neurons in the retina and brain. Macaque monkey colour vision is similar to human, and the receptive fields of macaque visual neurons have been used as an animal model of human colour processing. P retinal ganglion cells and parvocellular neurons are colour-selective neurons in macaque retina and lateral geniculate nucleus. Interactions between cone signals feeding into these neurons are still unclear. On the basis of experimental results with chromatic adaptation, excitatory and inhibitory inputs from L and M cones onto P cells (and parvocellular neurons) were thought to be quite specific (Fig. 1a). But these experiments with spatially diffuse adaptation did not rule out the 'mixed-surround' hypothesis: that there might be one cone-specific mechanism, the receptive field centre, and a surround mechanism connected to all cone types indiscriminately (Fig. 1e). Recent work has tended to support the mixed-surround hypothesis. We report here the development of new stimuli to measure spatial maps of the linear L-, M- and S-cone inputs to test the hypothesis definitively. Our measurements contradict the mixed-surround hypothesis and imply cone specificity in both centre and surround.