# On neuronal identity and representational drift - with Timothy O'Leary - #42

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/theoretical-neuroscience-podcast-6657149/on-neuronal-identity-and-representational-drift-with-timothy-o-leary-42
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/theoretical-neuroscience-podcast-6657149/on-neuronal-identity-and-representational-drift-with-timothy-o-leary-42.md
Podcast: [Theoretical Neuroscience Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/theoretical-neuroscience-podcast-6657149)
Published: 2026-06-20T06:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://431c9cd0-a1ff-4f9a-ac41-4fca68240d88.libsyn.com/on-how-neurons-keep-their-identity-and-representational-drift-with-timothy-oleary-42
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/431c9cd0-a1ff-4f9a-ac41-4fca68240d88/ThN-042-TimOLeary_mixdown.mp3?dest-id=4181327
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/theoretical-neuroscience-podcast-6657149/episodes/on-neuronal-identity-and-representational-drift-with-timothy-o-leary-42
Duration seconds: 6226

## Resource

A bursting neuron can maintain its firing-pattern identity throughout an animal's life, even though the ion-channel proteins underlying this identity are turned over on the timescale of days. Today's guest has proposed that neuronal identities are stored in the specific protein production rules, which are regulated by intracellular calcium signaling. And how can animals reliably perform a learned task for weeks, even when the underlying neural representation drifts over time, so-called representational drift?

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/theoretical-neuroscience-podcast-6657149/episodes/on-neuronal-identity-and-representational-drift-with-timothy-o-leary-42/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/theoretical-neuroscience-podcast-6657149/on-neuronal-identity-and-representational-drift-with-timothy-o-leary-42.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.