Evidence for Dynamic Excitation-Inhibition Ratio in Networks of Cortical Neurons

In this report trial-to-trial variations in the synchronized responses of neural networks are offered as evidence for excitation-inhibition ratio being a dynamic variable over time scales of minutes. Synchronized network responses to stimuli were studied in ex-vivo large scale cortical networks. We show that sub-second measures of the individual synchronous response, namely – its latency and decay duration, are related to minutes-scale network response dynamics. Network responsiveness is reflected as residency in, or shifting amongst, areas of the latency-decay plane. The different sensitivities of latency and decay durations to synaptic blockers imply that these two measures reflect the effective impacts of inhibitory and excitatory neuronal populations on response dynamics. Taken together, the data suggest that network response variations under repeated stimuli result from excitation-inhibition ratio being a dynamic variable rather than a parameter.