Functional network connectivity of the control and epileptic hippocampus

With the rapid rise in our knowledge about the structural and functional properties of hippocampal microcircuits, it has become possible to closely integrate experimental findings with large-scale, anatomically and biophysically realistic computational simulations of control and epileptic neuronal networks with unprecedented precision and predictive power. We are developing full-scale realistic network models of the control and injured temporal lobe in order to investigate fundamental questions related to normal hippocampal microcircuit function and the mechanistic bases of epilepsy. I review the conceptual framework and biological basis of model development and show specific applications, including new computational and experimental results concerning the phase-related firing of various interneuronal subtypes during learning and memory-related hippocampal network oscillations and the roles of aberrant hyper-connected hub-like neurons in seizures. The talk will highlight the unprecedented predictive and analytic power of increasingly user-friendly, freely shared, highly realistic, large-scale computational models in understanding normal circuit function and temporal lobe epilepsy.