Interaction of Synaptic Plasticity and Network Structure: Integrating Experimental and Multi-scale Modeling Approaches

Goal: The workshop overviews the critical features of empirically observed long-term neural plasticity and aims to trigger a discussion about how their interplay contributes to neural function and disease, founded on computational approaches at the microscopic and mesoscopic levels.

Contents and structure: The workshop begins with an experimental perspective on synaptic dynamics, elucidating the intricate biological aspects of synaptic and structural plasticity across spatial and temporal scales. In the following, we dive into the modeling of microscopic dynamics, aiming to bridge the gap between theoretical frameworks and empirical observations, and to understand how structural and functional changes at the cellular level influence network-level phenomena. Then, we take a closer look at emergent network dynamics that can arise from functional and/or structural synaptic plasticity as well as given network topologies, seeking to examine the impact of the interplay between neuronal connections, activity patterns, and plasticity mechanisms on neural functions and disorders, which shall end in an open discussion.