Effects of Inhibition on Neural Network Development Through Activity-dependent Neurite Outgrowth

Empirical studies have demonstrated that electrical activity of the neuron can directly affect the outgrowth of its neurites. In this paper, the implications of activity-dependent neurite outgrowth are studied in a simple two-cell model, containing one excitatory and one inhibitory cell. We show that activity-dependent outgrowth in combination with the presence of inhibition can account for bistability. The attractors, which can be both point and limit cycle attractors, may be associated with “normal” and “pathological” end states of network development. A slight modification of the model makes it applicable also to a range of other activity-dependent processes in neurons, such as changes in the number of efficacy of receptors. The main results of the previous model are also found in the modified model.