EFFECTS OF INHIBITION ON NEURAL-NETWORK DEVELOPMENT THROUGH ACTIVITY-DEPENDENT NEURITE OUTGROWTH

Empirical studies have demonstrated that electrical activity of the ne uron can directly affect the outgrowth of its neurites. In this paper, the implications of activity-dependent neurite outgrowth are studied in a simple two-cell model, containing one excitatory and one inhibito ry cell. We show that activity-dependent outgrowth in combination with the presence of inhibition can account for bistability. The attractor s, which can be both point and limit cycle attractors, may be associat ed with ''normal'' and ''pathological'' end states of network developm ent. A slight modification of the model makes it applicable also to a range of other activity-dependent processes in neurons, such as change s in the number or efficacy of receptors. The main results of the prev ious model are also found in the modified model. (C) 1997 Academic Pre ss Limited.