Benedikt Grothe: Optimizing conductance velocity and timing of action potentials in a neuronal circuit with microsecond precision

Abstract

Precise timing of action potentials is a fundamental prerequisite for neuronal processing. Myelination patterns define action potential conductance and temporal precision. However, recent evidence questions some general assumptions of how myelination patterns optimizes for maximal action potential conductance. Moreover, it is an open question how myelination patterns are regulated during development.

To study the effect of myelination on action potential timing, we focus on the mammalian circuit with the potentially most precise timing in the mammalian brain: the circuit underlying processing microsecond differences in the arrival of sounds at the two ears (interaural time difference, ITD), a basis for sound localization. This circuit exhibits surprising physiological and anatomical specializations, driven by early sensory activity, to ensure fast, stable and precise synaptic transmission.