[image: VVTNS.png] https://www.wwtns.online <https://streaklinks.com/A9c7PbbpKY7PxB6PaAJWGD3-/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wwtns.online> - on twitter: wwtns@TheoreticalWide You are cordially invited to the lecture given by Claire Meissner-Bernard Friedrich Miescher Institut for biomedical research Basel on the topic of Properties of memory networks with excitatory-inhibitory assemblies The lecture will be held on zoom on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, at *11:00 am EST * To receive the zoom link: https://www.wwtns.online/register-page *Abstract: * Classical views suggest that memories are stored in assemblies of excitatory neurons that become strongly interconnected during learning. However, recent experimental and theoretical results have challenged this view, leading to the hypothesis that memories are encoded in assemblies containing both excitatory (E) and inhibitory (I) neurons. Understanding the effects of these E-I assemblies on memory function is therefore essential. Using a biologically constrained model of an olfactory memory network, I will first describe how introducing E-I assemblies reorganizes odor-evoked activity patterns in neural state space. Indeed, the “geometry” of neural activity provides valuable insights about the computational properties of neural networks. I will then describe the behavior of networks with E-I assemblies upon partial manipulation of inhibitory neurons. Finally, I will discuss recent experimental data supporting predictions of the model. *About VVTNS : Launched as the World Wide Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar (WWTNS) in November 2020 and renamed in homage to Carl van Vreeswijk in Memoriam (April 20, 2022), Speakers have the occasion to talk about theoretical aspects of their work which cannot be discussed in a setting where the majority of the audience consists of experimentalists. The seminars, **held on Wednesdays at 11 am ET,** are 45-50 min long followed by a discussion. The talks are recorded with authorization of the speaker and are available to everybody on our YouTube channel.* ᐧ ᐧ