How the Brain Balances Excitation and Inhibition
Inhibitory neurons have “often been ascribed support roles,” said Annabelle Singer, a neuroscientist and neuroengineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. That’s likely because it’s simply easier to study excitatory neurons. For example, an excitatory place cell in the hippocampus can fire when an animal is in a particular location. When this happens, its excitation of other cells can be observed. “It’s very clear-cut,” she said. But an inhibitory neuron “fires a lot eve