Electrophysiology and Neuronal Network Dynamics

From a natural scientific point of view, psychiatric disorders result from pathologically altered operating modes of the brain, whose fundamental functional unit is the nerve cell, or neuron. A basic feature of this highly specialized cell type is its ability to generate electrical signals. For the purpose of interneuronal communication, neurons within vertebrate brains form extremely intricate networks by connecting each other via synapses. It is ultimately the electrical activity of these neuronal networks which generates and controls emotions and behavior.