Spatiotemporal dynamics of cortical network activity: the link between micro- and mesoscale activity

Spontaneous synchronization is a common phenomenon occurring in diverse contexts, from a group of glowing fireflies or chirping crickets in a field to a network of coupled neurons in the brain. The study of synchronization helps to understand how uniform behaviours emerge in populations of heterogeneous neurons in the cortex. To better understand the link between the macroscopic patterns of synchrony in cortex and the microscopic circuitry, here we investigated the spatial patterns of spontaneous and evoked synchrony at the spiking level activity and intermediate mesoscopic level in rodent cortex. Our aim is to quantify the contribution of bottom-up thalamic input and recurrent cortical connections to the patterns of network and population activity in cortex. We have electrophysiology data available for interested students and data scientists who would like to join the laboratory for a period of research. Additionally, simulation and computational projects are available.