Activity-dependent enhancement in the reliability of correlated spike timings in cultured cortical neurons

To study the use-dependent modification of activity in neural networks, we investigated the spike timing by simultaneously recording activity at multiple sites in a network of cultured cortical neurons. We used dynamical analysis to study the temporal structure of spike trains and the activity-dependent changes in the reliability and reproducibility of spike patterns evoked by a stimulus. We also used cross-correlation analysis to evaluate the interactions of neuron pairs. Our main conclusions are that even when no obvious change in spike numbers can be seen, use-dependent modification occurs, either enhancing or reducing in the reliability and reproducibility of spike trains evoked by a stimulus, and the fine temporal structure of stimulus-evoked spike trains and interactions between neurons are also modified by tetanic stimulation. Received: 25 February 1998 / Accepted in revised form: 24 August 1998