The Downs and Ups of Sensory Deprivation: Evidence for Firing Rate Homeostasis In Vivo

Homeostatic adjustment of neuronal firing rates is considered a vital mechanism to keep neurons operating in their optimal range despite dynamically changing input. Two studies in this issue of Neuron, Hengen et al. (2013) and Keck et al. (2013), provide evidence for firing rate homeostasis in the neocortex of freely behaving rodents