About his PhD project

Early sharp waves (eSPW) are spontaneous bursts of neuronal activity observed in the CA1 region of the hippocampus during the early stages of development. In rodent brains this occurs during the first 2 post-natal weeks. It has been hypothesised that these early sharp waves emerge from developing neuronal circuits involving the interaction of strong excitatory input from the Entorhinal cortex, recurrent activity within CA3, and delayed local inhibition in CA1. Our aim is to identify the circuit and neuronal mechanisms that generate early sharp waves. To do this we will combine analysis of experimental data with computational models of the developing hippocampus at the circuit and population levels and explore with simulations and dynamical systems methods how eSPWs emerge from excitatory/inhibitory balance, synaptic dynamics and external inputs.