The purpose of the nervous system is to generate behavior appropriate to a situation. However, even when the nervous system can produce a very precise behavior, it is not clear how finely each neuron in the system must be tuned to generate that behavior. I propose to study this question by characterizing the intrinsic properties in a single neuron in the crustacean pyloric network. I will do this by delivering semi-realistic inputs to the cell and monitoring the cell's responses. I will relate these properties to the emergent properties at the network level, and the maximal conductances of the cell's voltage-gated channels. The intrinsic properties and emergent properties of the network will be characterized using intracellular and extracellular recording techniques, and they will be related to the voltage-gated conductances using biophysically realistic models of the cell. This work will provide important insights about how nervous systems regulate themselves to maintain proper function.
