Publications by authors named "Larry F Abbott"

Making inferences about the computations performed by neuronal circuits from synapse-level connectivity maps is an emerging opportunity in neuroscience. The mushroom body (MB) is well positioned for developing and testing such an approach due to its conserved neuronal architecture, recently completed dense connectome, and extensive prior experimental studies of its roles in learning, memory, and activity regulation. Here, we identify new components of the MB circuit in , including extensive visual input and MB output neurons (MBONs) with direct connections to descending neurons.

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Large scientific projects in genomics and astronomy are influential not because they answer any single question but because they enable investigation of continuously arising new questions from the same data-rich sources. Advances in automated mapping of the brain's synaptic connections (connectomics) suggest that the complicated circuits underlying brain function are ripe for analysis. We discuss benefits of mapping a mouse brain at the level of synapses.

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The balance between excitatory and inhibitory (E and I) synapses is thought to be critical for information processing in neural circuits. However, little is known about the spatial principles of E and I synaptic organization across the entire dendritic tree of mammalian neurons. We developed a new open-source reconstruction platform for mapping the size and spatial distribution of E and I synapses received by individual genetically-labeled layer 2/3 (L2/3) cortical pyramidal neurons (PNs) in vivo.

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Intelligence, in most people's conception, involves combining pieces of evidence to reach non-obvious conclusions. A recent theoretical study shows that intelligence-like brain functions can emerge from simple neural circuits, in this case the honeybee mushroom body.

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A key question in the analysis of hippocampal memory relates to how attention modulates the encoding and long-term retrieval of spatial and nonspatial representations in this region. To address this question, we recorded from single cells over a period of 5 days in the CA1 region of the dorsal hippocampus while mice acquired one of two goal-oriented tasks. These tasks required the animals to find a hidden food reward by attending to either the visuospatial environment or a particular odor presented in shifting spatial locations.

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Both in vivo and in vitro recordings indicate that neuronal membrane potentials can make spontaneous transitions between distinct up and down states. At the network level, populations of neurons have been observed to make these transitions synchronously. Although synaptic activity and intrinsic neuron properties play an important role, the precise nature of the processes responsible for these phenomena is not known.

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