Panayiota Poirazi

Active dendrites and their role in neuronal and circuit computations 

The goal of this presentation is to provide a set of predictions generated by biophysical and/or abstract mathematical models regarding the role of dendrites in information processing, learning and memory across different brain regions. I will present modelling studies from our lab –along with supporting experimental evidence- that investigate how dendrites may be used to facilitate the learning and coding of both spatial and temporal information at the single cell, the microcircuit and the neuronal network level. I will present the main findings of a number of projects in lab dealing with dendritic nonlinearities in PV interneurons and their consequences on memory encoding, the role of dendrites in solving nonlinear problems in human neurons and microcircuit contributions to place cell dynamics in the CA1.