Cell assemblies and central pattern generators (CPGs) are related types of neuronal networks: both consist of interacting groups of neurons whose collective activities lead to defined functional outputs. In the case of a cell assembly, the functional output may be interpreted as a representation of something in the world, external or internal; for a CPG, the output ‘drives’ an observable (i.e. motor) behavior. Electrical coupling, via gap junctions, is critical for the development of CPGs, as well as for their actual operation in the adult animal. Electrical coupling is also known to be important in the development of hippocampal and neocortical principal cell networks. We here argue that electrical coupling – in addition to chemical synapses – may therefore contribute to the formation of at least some cell assemblies in adult animals.

中文翻译：

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电耦合是否有助于电池组件的形成？

细胞组件和中央模式生成器 (CPG) 是相关类型的神经元网络：两者都由相互作用的神经元组组成，它们的集体活动导致定义的功能输出。在细胞组装的情况下，功能输出可以解释为世界上某事物的表示，外部或内部；对于 CPG，输出“驱动”可观察的（即电机）行为。通过间隙连接进行的电耦合对于 CPG 的开发以及它们在成年动物中的实际操作至关重要。还已知电耦合在海马和新皮质主要细胞网络的发育中很重要。因此，我们认为，除了化学突触之外，电耦合可能有助于成年动物中至少一些细胞集合的形成。