Studies of synaptic elimination identify an intersection of neurocomputational and neurodevelopmental perspectives

In order to reach a better understanding of brain function, conceptual syne rgies linking empirical neurobiological studies and neurocomputational stud ies should be pursued. I describe an example of a potential synergy based o n studies of neural network pruning. Simulations demonstrate that selective elimination of connections enhances the computational capacity of networks capable of temporal processing. These findings may shed light on the funct ional significance of postnatal neurodevelopmental pruning of cortical conn ections that occurs in mammals.