Circuits constructed from identified Aplysia neurons exhibit multiple patterns of persistent activity.

We have used identified neurons from the abdominal ganglion of the mollusc Aplysia to construct and analyze two circuits in vitro. Each of these circuits was capable of producing two patterns of persistent activity; that is, they had bistable output states. The output could be switched between the stable states by a brief, external input. One circuit consisted of cocultured L10 and left upper quadrant (LUQ) neurons that formed reciprocal, inhibitory connections. In one stable state L10 was active and the LUQ was quiescent, whereas in the other stable state L10 was quiescent and the LUQ was active. A second circuit consisted of co-cultured L7 and L12 neurons that formed reciprocal, excitatory connections. In this circuit, both cells were quiescent in one stable state and both cells fired continuously in the other state. Bistable output in both circuits resulted from the nonlinear firing characteristics of each neuron and the feedback between the two neurons. We explored how the stability of the neuronal output could be controlled by the background currents injected into each neuron. We observed a relatively well-defined range of currents for which bistability occurred, consistent with the values expected from the measured strengths of the connections and a simple model. Outside of the range, the output was stable in only a single state. These results suggest how stable patterns of output are produced by some in vivo circuits and how command neurons from higher neural centers may control the activity of these circuits. The criteria that guided us in forming our circuits in culture were derived from theoretical studies on the properties of certain neuronal network models (e.g., Hopfield, J. J. 1984. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 81:3088-3092). Our results show that circuits consisting of only two co-cultured neurons can exhibit bistable output states of the form hypothesized to occur in populations of neurons.