Re-creating active states in vitro with a dynamic-clamp protocol

In neocortical neurons, network activity is responsible for intense synaptic inputs, which maintain the membrane in a high-conductance state. Here, we propose a method for re-creating specific high-conductance states intracellularly. This method makes use of the estimation of the mean and variance of excitatory and inhibitory conductances based on intracellular recordings, and of the injection of appropriate stochastic conductances in in vitro slice preparations using a dynamic-clamp protocol. The approach could be used to evaluate the modulation of neuronal responses by specific network states.