Recovery of neuronal networks after physical damage

Abstract

We investigated the impact of physical damage in neuronal cultures. To do that, we recorded the evolution of the spontaneous activity in a culture before damage, just after damage and few days after it. The analysis of the data showed that the activations per minute first decreased abruptly just after the damage, to gradually recover up to strong levels in just one day. This recovery was also observed in more elaborated analysis in the context of functional connectivity and network theory. The study suggests that physical damage in neuronal circuits triggers response mechanisms that are able to restore circuit's functionality in a relatively short time period