Scientists control rapid re-wiring of brain circuits using patterned visual stimulation
Summary:
Researchers have shown for the first time how the brain re-wires and fine-tunes its connections differently depending on the relative timing of sensory stimuli. In most neuroscience textbooks today, there is a widely held model that explains how nerve circuits might refine their connectivity based on patterned firing of brain cells, but it has not previously been directly observed in real time.
In a new study, published in this week's issue of the journal Science, researchers show for the first time how the brain re-wires and fine-tunes its connections differently depending on the relative timing of sensory stimuli. In most neuroscience textbooks today, there is a widely held model that explains how nerve circuits might refine their connectivity based on patterned firing of brain cells, but it has not previously been directly observed in real time. This "Hebbian Theory," named after the McGill University psychologist Donald Olding Hebb who first proposed it in 1949 has been summarized as:
"Cells that fire together, wire together. Cells that fire out of sync, lose their link."
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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 104953.htm