György Buzsáki

György Buzsáki has pioneered the experimental exploration of how coordinated, rhythmic neuronal activity serves physiological functions in the cerebral cortex, and in particular, how information is exchanged between the hippocampus and neocortex. Using multi-site recording in behaving animals, he identified the cellular and synaptic basis of theta gamma oscillations and sharp waves with associated fast oscillations, their relationship to each other and to behaviour and sleep. He discovered several novel inhibitory cell types in the hippocampus and established the role of the GABAergic basket cells in theta, gamma and ripple oscillations.

Through cutting edge intradendritic and somatic recordings in vivo from identified cells, he defined the cellular contributions of neuronal circuits to oscillatory activity and provided a theoretical basis for their role in behaviour. The results of these wide-ranging experiments led to his most influential work, the two-stage model of memory trace consolidation: the neocortex-mediated information processing during learning transiently modifies hippocampal networks, followed by reactivation and consolidation of these memory traces during later hippocampal sharp wave bursts.

He has also demonstrated that in the absence of environmental signals, the hippocampal and prefrontal cortical circuits continuously generate self-organized assembly sequences of neuronal activity. Such internally generated sequences have long been thought to be the basis of cognitive functions. Overall, Buzsaki has been constantly seeking a deeper understanding of the cognitive powers of the cerebral cortex and has pioneered some of the most difficult approaches necessary to address these questions.