Abstract
Both theoretical and experimental evidence indicate that synaptic excitation and inhibition in the cerebral cortex are well-balanced during the resting state and sensory processing. Here, we briefly summarize the evidence for how neural circuits are adjusted to achieve this balance. Then, we discuss how such excitatory and inhibitory balance shapes stimulus representation and information propagation, two basic functions of neural coding. We also point out the benefit of adopting such a balance during neural coding. We conclude that excitatory and inhibitory balance may be a fundamental mechanism underlying efficient coding.
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Acknowledgements
YY thanks for the support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (81761128011, 31571070), Shanghai Science and Technology Committee support (16410722600), the program for the Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar SHH1140004) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning, and Omics-based precision medicine of epilepsy entrusted by the Key Research Project of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (Grant No. 2016YFC0904400) for their support.
Author Contributions
Yuguo Yu and Shanglin Zhou designed research; Yuguo Yu and Shanglin Zhou performed research; Shanglin Zhou and Yuguo Yu wrote the paper. All authors reviewed the manuscript.
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The authors declare no competing financial interests.
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Zhou, S., Yu, Y. (2018). Synaptic Excitatory-Inhibitory Balance Underlying Efficient Neural Coding. In: Cheung-Hoi Yu, A., Li, L. (eds) Systems Neuroscience. Advances in Neurobiology, vol 21. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-94593-4_5
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