The role of postsynaptic potential decay rate in neural synchrony

Integrate-and-fire neurons have been used widely to model large-scale networks with temporal dynamics. Previous work has focused on temporal delays in modulating synchronization behavior; not much attention has been given to the postsynaptic potential (PSP) decay rate. In this paper, we show that varying the PSP decay rate has the same effect as adjusting the axonal conduction delay. The decay rate can be adjusted independently at different locations in the neuron, allowing precise fine tuning of synchronization behavior. Also, because the adjustments can be local and small, this process can be more efficient than adjusting the larger-scale axonal delays.