Synaptic dynamics influence the phase of a neural response

The postsynaptic response of a neuron to time-varying inputs is determined by the interaction of presynaptic spike times with the short-term dynamics of each synapse. Such synaptic dynamics makes the postsynaptic neuron more sensitive to input rate fluctuations than to average firing rates. Here we show that the postsynaptic neural spiking response to a rhythmically frequency-modulated population input can exhibit a predictive phase lead due to depressing synapses. The magnitude of the lead increases with increasing correlations between the input spike trains. Facilitation and vesicle recycling rates also influence the phase.