To understand how the cerebral cortex functions requires knowledge of single cells in this region and of their organization into cortical networks. Looking beyond the classical "wiring diagram" description of the organization of cortical cells into circuits, this innovative work focuses on dynamic aspects of cerebral cortical physiology, both at the single-neuron and network levels. Recent years have seen a remarkable expansion of knowledge about the basic cellular physiology and molecular biology of cortical neurons--their membrane properties, their synaptic characteristics, their functional...