Controlling neuronal sensitivity to synchronous input

Neurons in vivo are continuously bombarded by synaptic input-so how can they detect particular inputs against this background of synaptic activity? We study how modulating background synaptic input can change neuronal sensitivity to a subset of synchronized inputs. We find that changes in net excitation or inhibition vary both the probability of detecting synchronous input and also the probability of a false-positive response. Varying the level of background input can modulate probability of synchrony detection independently of false-positive probability.