Can neural circuit structure define its signal patterns?

Abstract

In this study, a comprehensive neuronal model of a living central pattern generator network was implemented in custom analog VLSI hardware. After the model was designed and assembled, signals denoting membrane potential in each cell were seen to compare faithfully and regularly with those in their living counterparts, but as key cell parameters were varied, the network was observed to settle into alternate signal patterns and rhythms. This suggests that defining the structure of a nerve network is not enough to specify the signals that will reside therein.