Neural circuit

1. Historical Development and Theories:
– Treatments of neural networks in historical texts like ‘Principles of Psychology’ and ‘Psychiatry’.
– Introduction of Hebbian theory in 1949 focusing on pre-synaptic and post-synaptic activity.
– Initial works on neural network processing by McCulloch and Pitts in 1959.
– Development of simplified models such as perceptrons to mimic biological neurons.
– Introduction of synaptic transmission models accounting for neural summation and excitatory/inhibitory connections.

2. Neural Connections and Synaptic Mechanisms:
– Complexity of the brain’s neuron connections compared to artificial neural networks.
– Synapses (chemical and electrical) as basic connections between neurons.
– Role of neurexins in establishing synapses.
– Principles of neural summation and excitatory/inhibitory synaptic transmission.
– Various forms of synaptic plasticity influencing individual synapses and neurons.

3. Neural Circuitry and Functional Properties:
– Examples of neural circuits like the trisynaptic circuit in the hippocampus.
– Central pattern generators in the spinal cord controlling rhythmic behaviors.
– Types of neural circuits: diverging, converging, reverberating, and parallel after-discharge.
– Functions of neural circuits in information exchange and rhythmic behavior regulation.
– Characteristics of reverberating and parallel after-discharge circuits.

4. Plasticity, Adaptation, and Study Methods:
– Synaptic plasticity involving changes in synaptic efficacy due to activity.
– Impact of long-term potentiation and depression on memory formation.
– Concept of neuroplasticity resulting from brain changes due to activity or experience.
– Influence of temporal characteristics of synaptic transmission on plasticity.
– Development of neuroimaging techniques for investigating neural circuits and networks.

5. Clinical Significance and Related Topics:
– Pathological neural circuitries leading to conditions like Parkinson’s disease.
– Contribution of issues in the Papez circuit to neurodegenerative disorders.
– Related topics: feedback, regions in the human brain, network science, neural coding, neural engineering.
– References to further reading materials and studies on neural circuits and plasticity.

Neural circuit (Wikipedia)

For larger structures of neurons, see biological neural network. For projections from one region of the nervous system to another, see neural pathway.

A neural circuit is a population of neurons interconnected by synapses to carry out a specific function when activated. Multiple neural circuits interconnect with one another to form large scale brain networks.

Neural circuits have inspired the design of artificial neural networks, though there are significant differences.