Abstract
Synchrony in neuronal networks, also called a neuronal avalanche, has no characteristic scale: the distribution of the number of neuronal spikes in avalanches obeys a power law. Although neuronal synchrony is believed to replay stable spatiotemporal activity, a relationship between the size of avalanches and the spatiotemporal patterns remains unknown. Previous research reported that dissociated cortical networks under development frequently exhibited specific large sized avalanches so that the distribution of avalanches deviated from the power law. Given the previous report, if the variety of patterns correlated with the variety of avalanche sizes, a specific spatiotemporal pattern would appear dominantly during development. In this study, to test the above hypothesis, the relationship between the distribution of avalanche sizes and correlations in synchrony patterns were investigated. Cortical neurons were cultured on high-density electrode arrays and avalanches were observed through maturation. Our results showed that a characteristic size and pattern of avalanche were dominant in a specific period during development, and the sizes and patterns diversified after maturation.
