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Inhibitory stabilization and cortical computation

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 22, pages 21–37 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Neuronal networks with strong recurrent connectivity provide the brain with a powerful means to perform complex computational tasks. However, high-gain excitatory networks are susceptible to instability, which can lead to runaway activity, as manifested in pathological regimes such as epilepsy. Inhibitory stabilization offers a dynamic, fast and flexible compensatory mechanism to balance otherwise unstable networks, thus enabling the brain to operate in its most efficient regimes. Here we review recent experimental evidence for the presence of such inhibition-stabilized dynamics in the brain and discuss their consequences for cortical computation. We show how the study of inhibition-stabilized networks in the brain has been facilitated by recent advances in the technological toolbox and perturbative techniques, as well as a concomitant development of biologically realistic computational models. By outlining future avenues, we suggest that inhibitory stabilization can offer an exemplary case of how experimental neuroscience can progress in tandem with technology and theory to advance our understanding of the brain.

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Fig. 1: Inhibition-stabilized dynamics emerge in networks with strong recurrent excitation and inhibition.
Fig. 2: Inhibitory stabilization in the brain.
Fig. 3: Spatio-temporal patterns of neural activity and inhibitory stabilization.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank A. Aertsen, A. Kumar and S. J. Barnes for comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Bioengineering Department, Imperial College London, London, UK

    Sadra Sadeh & Claudia Clopath

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Glossary

Effective connectivity

Measure of how two neurons (or populations) influence each other’s responses, which can be modulated in different regimes by the dynamic change in the efficacy of connections.

Receptive fields

Specific regions in the sensory space (such as the visual field) to which individual neurons are most responsive.

Spontaneous activity

The activity of the brain in the absence of external stimuli, governed by the intrinsic dynamics of the brain.

Pattern completion

The process of reactivation of a pattern of activity in neuronal responses, even when the input is not completely provided.

Temporal binding

The process of binding isolated events in time to form a coherent temporal sequence (for example, by extending brief neuronal responses).

Surround suppression

Suppression of neuronal responses by enlarging the stimulus, or adding a sensory stimulus outside the classical receptive field that would not activate the neurons if presented alone.

Optogenetics

Use of light to increase or decrease the activity of neurons through optical stimulation of light-sensitive ion channels.

Transfer functions

Functions describing how the output activity of a neuron changes with different input values.

Disinhibition

Inhibition of the suppressive effect of inhibitory neurons, which can lead to an effective increase in the activity of target neurons.

Supralinear stabilized networks

(SSNs). Inhibition-stabilized network models with non-linear neuronal responses, whereby neurons respond with higher gains to stronger inputs (supralinear input–output transfer functions).

Normalization

A non-linear computation whereby the activity of a neuron is normalized by another parameter (for instance, divided by the population activity).

Persistent activity

Neuronal activity that persists even when the stimulus is not present (for example, to help working memory retain the information).

Eigenvalue

The scalar factor by which a specific mode of activity (eigenvector) in a network is amplified, with values greater than 1 denoting unstable amplification.

Synfire chains

Multilayered feedforward networks that govern the flow of information via the synchronous cascade of activity from one layer to another.

Neural manifolds

Projections of the activity of neuronal populations in a reduced space composed of the main components of correlated activity.

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Sadeh, S., Clopath, C. Inhibitory stabilization and cortical computation. Nat Rev Neurosci 22, 21–37 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-020-00390-z

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