AUTHOR=Masoli Stefano , Rizza Martina Francesca , Tognolina Marialuisa , Prestori Francesca , D’Angelo Egidio 

TITLE=Computational models of neurotransmission at cerebellar synapses unveil the impact on network computation

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience

VOLUME=Volume 16 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/computational-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fncom.2022.1006989

DOI=10.3389/fncom.2022.1006989

ISSN=1662-5188

ABSTRACT=The neuroscientific field is benefitting from the conjoint evolution of experimental and computational techniques allowing to reconstruct and simulate complex models of neurons and synapses. Chemical synapses are characterized by mechanisms of presynaptic vesicle cycling, neurotransmitter diffusion and postsynaptic receptor activation, which eventually lead to postsynaptic currents and subsequent membrane potential changes. These mechanisms have been accurately modelled for different synapses and receptor types (AMPA, NMDA and GABA) of the cerebellar cortical network allowing to simulate their impact on computation. Of special relevance is short-term synaptic plasticity generating spatio-temporal filtering in local microcircuits and controlling burst transmission and information flow through the network. Here we show how data-driven computational models recapitulate the properties of neurotransmission at cerebellar synapses. Simulation of microcircuit models are starting to unveil how the diverse synaptic mechanisms shape the spatiotemporal profiles of circuit activity and computation.