Description:

Eve Marder, Ph.D. 
Professor 
Victor and Gwendolyn Beinfield Professor of Neuroscience
Biology Dept and Volen Center
Brandeis University

Abstract
Both computational and experimental results in single neurons and small networks demonstrate that very similar network function can result from quite disparate sets of neuronal and network parameters.  Using the crustacean stomatogastric nervous system, we study the influence of these differences in underlying structure on differential resilience of individuals to a variety of environmental perturbations, including changes in temperature, pH, potassium concentration and neuromodulation.  We show that neurons with many different kinds of ion channels can smoothly move through different mechanisms in generating their activity patterns, thus extending their dynamic range.