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=16 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 benefits from the conjoint evolution of experimental and computational techniques, allowing for the reconstruction and simulation of complex models of neurons and synapses. Chemical synapses are characterized by 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 modeled for different synapses and receptor types (AMPA, NMDA, and GABA) of the cerebellar cortical network, allowing simulation of their impact on computation. Of special relevance is short-term synaptic plasticity, which generates spatiotemporal filtering in local microcircuits and controls burst transmission and information flow through the network. Here, we present how data-driven computational models recapitulate the properties of neurotransmission at cerebellar synapses. The simulation of microcircuit models is starting to reveal how diverse synaptic mechanisms shape the spatiotemporal profiles of circuit activity and computation.