AXONAL PROCESSES AND NEURAL PLASTICITY - A REPLY

We examine the claim that a class of sprouting-and-retraction models i s mathematically equivalent to a fixed-anatomy model. We accept, subje ct to important caveats, a narrow mathematical equivalence of the ener gy functions in both classes of model. We argue that this narrow equiv alence of energy functions does not, however, entail equivalence of th e models. Indeed, the claim of complete model equivalence hides signif icant dynamical differences between the approaches, which we discuss. We also disagree that our work demonstrates that subtractive constrain t enforcement is natural in fixed-anatomy models.