Channel noise-induced temporal coherence transitions and synchronization transitions in adaptive neuronal networks with time delay

Using spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), we study the effect of channel noise on temporal coherence and synchronization of adaptive scale-free Hodgkin-Huxley neuronal networks with time delay. It is found that the spiking regularity and spatial synchronization of the neurons intermittently increase and decrease as channel noise intensity is varied, exhibiting transitions of temporal coherence and synchronization. Moreover, this phenomenon depends on time delay, STDP, and network average degree. As time delay increases, the phenomenon is weakened, however, there are optimal STDP and network average degree by which the phenomenon becomes strongest. These results show that channel noise can intermittently enhance the temporal coherence and synchronization of the delayed adaptive neuronal networks. These findings provide a new insight into channel noise for the information processing and transmission in neural systems.     

动态突触、神经耦合与时间延迟对神经元发放的影响

神经元膜电位的受激发放在神经系统的信息传递中起着重要作用.基于一个受动态突触刺激的突触后神经元发放模型,采用数值模拟和傅里叶变换分析的方法研究了动态突触、神经耦合与时间延迟对突触后神经元发放的影响.结果发现:突触前神经元发放频率与Hodgkin-Huxley神经元的固有频率发生共振决定了突触后神经元发放的难易,特定频率范围内的电流刺激有利于神经元激发,动态突触输出的随机突触电流中这些电流刺激所占的比率在很大程度上影响了突触后神经元的发放次数;将突触后神经元换成神经网络后,网络中神经元之间的耦合可以促进神经元的发放,耦合中的时间延迟可以增强这种促进作用,但是不会改变神经耦合对神经元发放的促进模式.     

Synaptic plasticity modulates autonomous transitions between waking and sleep states: insights from a Morris-Lecar model

The transitions between waking and sleep states are characterized by considerable changes in neuronal firing. During waking, neurons fire tonically at irregular intervals and a desynchronized activity is observed at the electroencephalogram. This activity becomes synchronized with slow wave sleep onset when neurons start to oscillate between periods of firing (up-states) and periods of silence (down-states). Recently, it has been proposed that the connections between neurons undergo potentiation during waking, whereas they weaken during slow wave sleep. Here, we propose a dynamical model to describe basic features of the autonomous transitions between such states. We consider a network of coupled neurons in which the strength of the interactions is modulated by synaptic long term potentiation and depression, according to the spike time-dependent plasticity rule (STDP). The model shows that the enhancement of synaptic strength between neurons occurring in waking increases the propensity of the network to synchronize and, conversely, desynchronization appears when the strength of the connections become weaker. Both transitions appear spontaneously, but the transition from sleep to waking required a slight modification of the STDP rule with the introduction of a mechanism which becomes active during sleep and changes the proportion between potentiation and depression in accordance with biological data. At the neuron level, transitions from desynchronization to synchronization and vice versa can be described as a bifurcation between two different states, whose dynamical regime is modulated by synaptic strengths, thus suggesting that transition from a state to an another can be determined by quantitative differences between potentiation and depression.     

Tomographic-probability description of solitons in Bose-Einstein condensates

The influence of a weight-dependent spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) rule on the temporal evolution and equilibrium state of a certain synapse is investigated. We show that under certain conditions, a spike-induced rate-learning scheme could be achieved. Through studying the situation when a single Hodgkin-Huxley neuron is driven by a large ensemble of input neurons, we find that synchronized firing of a sub population of input neurons may be important to information processing in the nervous system. Using simulations, we show that the temporal structure of the spike trains of these synchronized input neurons can be transmitted reliably; further, synapses from these neurons will increase stably due to the STDP rule and this may provide a mechanism for learning and information storage in biologically plausible network models. Received 12 September 2002 / Received in final form 12 December 2002 Published online 14 February 2003 RID="a" ID="a"e-mail: huang_yue@netease.com     

Stochastic resonance in hybrid scale-free neuronal networks

We study the phenomenon of stochastic resonance in a system of coupled neurons that are globally excited by a weak periodic input signal. We make the realistic assumption that the chemical and electrical synapses interact in the same neuronal network, hence constituting a hybrid network. By considering a hybrid coupling scheme embedded in the scale-free topology, we show that the electrical synapses are more efficient than chemical synapses in promoting the best correlation between the weak input signal and the response of the system. We also demonstrate that the average degree of neurons within the hybrid scale-free network significantly influences the optimal amount of noise for the occurrence of stochastic resonance, indicating that there also exists an optimal topology for the amplification of the response to the weak input signal. Lastly, we verify that the presented results are robust to variations of the system size.     

Stochastic resonance on Newman-Watts networks of Hodgkin-Huxley neurons with local periodic driving

We study the phenomenon of stochastic resonance on Newman-Watts small-world networks consisting of biophysically realistic Hodgkin-Huxley neurons with a tunable intensity of intrinsic noise via voltage-gated ion channels embedded in neuronal membranes. Importantly thereby, the subthreshold periodic driving is introduced to a single neuron of the network, thus acting as a pacemaker trying to impose its rhythm on the whole ensemble. We show that there exists an optimal intensity of intrinsic ion channel noise by which the outreach of the pacemaker extends optimally across the whole network. This stochastic resonance phenomenon can be further amplified via fine-tuning of the small-world network structure, and depends significantly also on the coupling strength among neurons and the driving frequency of the pacemaker. In particular, we demonstrate that the noise-induced transmission of weak localized rhythmic activity peaks when the pacemaker frequency matches the intrinsic frequency of subthreshold oscillations. The implications of our findings for weak signal detection and information propagation across neural networks are discussed.     

Effect of spike-timing-dependent plasticity on coherence resonance and synchronization transitions by time delay in adaptive neuronal networks

In this paper, we numerically study how time delay induces multiple coherence resonance (MCR) and synchronization transitions (ST) in adaptive Hodgkin-Huxley neuronal networks with spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP). It is found that MCR induced by time delay STDP can be either enhanced or suppressed as the adjusting rate A_p of STDP changes, and ST by time delay varies with the increase of A_p, and there is optimal A_p by which the ST becomes strongest. It is also found that there are optimal network randomness and network size by which ST by time delay becomes strongest, and when A_p increases, the optimal network randomness and optimal network size increase and related ST is enhanced. These results show that STDP can either enhance or suppress MCR and optimal STDP can enhance ST induced by time delay in the adaptive neuronal networks. These findings provide a new insight into STDP’s role for the information processing and transmission in neural systems.     

Frequency-selective response of FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron networks via changing random edges

We consider a network of FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons; each neuron is subjected to a subthreshold periodic signal and independent Gaussian white noise. The firing pattern of the mean field changes from an internal-scale dominant pattern to an external-scale dominant one when more and more edges are added into the network. We find numerically that (a) this transition is more sensitive to random edges than to regular edges, and (b) there is a saturation length for random edges beyond which the transition is no longer sharpened. The influence of network size is also investigated.     

Cooperation of spike timing-dependent and heterosynaptic plasticities in neural networks: a Fokker-Planck approach

It is believed that both Hebbian and homeostatic mechanisms are essential in neural learning. While Hebbian plasticity selectively modifies synaptic connectivity according to activity experienced, homeostatic plasticity constrains this change so that neural activity is always within reasonable physiological limits. Recent experiments reveal spike timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) as a new type of Hebbian learning with high time precision and heterosynaptic plasticity (HSP) as a new homeostatic mechanism acting directly on synapses. Here, we study the effect of STDP and HSP on randomly connected neural networks. Despite the reported successes of STDP to account for neural activities at the single-cell level, we find that, surprisingly, at the network level, networks trained using STDP alone cannot seem to generate realistic neural activities. For instance, STDP would stipulate that past sensory experience be maintained forever if it is no longer activated. To overcome this difficulty, motivated by the fact that HSP can induce strong competition between sensory experiences, we propose a biophysically plausible learning rule by combining STDP and HSP. Based on the Fokker-Planck theory and extensive numerical computations, we demonstrate that HSP and STDP operated on different time scales can complement each other, resulting in more realistic network activities. Our finding may provide fresh insight into the learning mechanism of the brain.     

Stochastic resonance and synchronization behaviors of excitatory-inhibitory small-world network subjected to electromagnetic induction

The phenomenon of stochastic resonance and synchronization on some complex neuronal networks have been investigated extensively.These studies are of great significance for us to understand the weak signal detection and information transmission in neural systems.Moreover,the complex electrical activities of a cell can induce time-varying electromagnetic fields,of which the internal fluctuation can change collective electrical activities of neuronal networks.However,in the past there have been a few corresponding research papers on the influence of the electromagnetic induction among neurons on the collective dynamics of the complex system.Therefore,modeling each node by imposing electromagnetic radiation on the networks and investigating stochastic resonance in a hybrid network can extend the interest of the work to the understanding of these network dynamics.In this paper,we construct a small-world network consisting of excitatory neurons and inhibitory neurons,in which the effect of electromagnetic induction that is considered by using magnetic flow and the modulation of magnetic flow on membrane potential is described by using memristor coupling.According to our proposed network model,we investigate the effect of induced electric field generated by magnetic stimulation on the transition of bursting phase synchronization of neuronal system under electromagnetic radiation.It is shown that the intensity and frequency of the electric field can induce the transition of the network bursting phase synchronization.Moreover,we also analyze the effect of magnetic flow on the detection of weak signals and stochastic resonance by introducing a subthreshold pacemaker into a single cell of the network and we find that there is an optimal electromagnetic radiation intensity,where the phenomenon of stochastic resonance occurs and the degree of response to the weak signal is maximized.Simulation results show that the extension of the subthreshold pacemaker in the network also depends greatly on coupling strength.The presented results may have important implications for the theoretical study of magnetic stimulation technology,thus promoting further development of transcranial magnetic stimulation(TMS) as an effective means of treating certain neurological diseases.     

弱信号在Hodgkin-Huxley神经元单向耦合系统中的传输特性

研究了阈下信号在含噪声的Hodgkin-Huxley神经元单向耦合系统中的传输特性.结果表明,各单元中均存在随机共振现象,可见噪声有助于提高信号的检测和传输;另外,耦合实现了信号的传输,且随着耦合强度的增强信号的传输效率增加,在耦合强度达到某一程度时两神经元实现了有时延的一致放电;并且接收元的信噪比最优值处的噪声强度随着耦合强度的提高而减小,最终与驱动元的一致;另外在耦合强度过强时,接收元出现过耦合放电,但是最终会被不断增强的噪声抑制,此现象有助于解释神经元的自放电及神经系统的自调节.研究表明噪声和耦合在 关键词： Hodgkin-Huxley神经元模型 随机共振 噪声 单向耦合系统     

Network response synchronization enhanced by synaptic plasticity

Synchronization of neural network response on spatially localized periodic stimulation was studied. The network consisted of synaptically coupled spiking neurons with spike-timing-dependent synaptic plasticity (STDP). Network connectivity was defined by time evolving matrix of synaptic weights. We found that the steady-state spatial pattern of the weights could be rearranged due to locally applied external periodic stimulation. A method for visualization of synaptic weights as vector field was introduced to monitor the evolving connectivity matrix. We demonstrated that changes in the vector field and associated weight rearrangements underlay an enhancement of synchronization range.     

Astrocyte as a Detector of Synchronous Events of a Neural Network

The principles and mechanisms of information processing in the brain are among key fundamental problems of modern science. Neurons being the main signal cells of the brain provide the transmission and transformation of sequences of electrical pulses in a neural network. Signal networks include not only neurons but also glial cells called astrocytes executing regulatory functions, as is accepted in neurobiology. In this work, a morphofunctional (compartment) model of an astrocyte has been proposed. It has been shown that the astrocyte can serve as a detector of synchronous events of different points of the neural network, generating a calcium response signal. In turn, this signal induces the synchronous ejection of neuroactive substances to the corresponding points of the network, which can enhance the spatial synchronization of neurons or the synchronous modulation of different neural paths.     

Coherent periodic activity in excitatory Erdös-Renyi neural networks: the role of network connectivity

In this article, we investigate the role of connectivity in promoting coherent activity in excitatory neural networks. In particular, we would like to understand if the onset of collective oscillations can be related to a minimal average connectivity and how this critical connectivity depends on the number of neurons in the networks. For these purposes, we consider an excitatory random network of leaky integrate-and-fire pulse coupled neurons. The neurons are connected as in a directed Erdo?s-Renyi graph with average connectivity scaling as a power law with the number of neurons in the network. The scaling is controlled by a parameter γ, which allows to pass from massively connected to sparse networks and therefore to modify the topology of the system. At a macroscopic level, we observe two distinct dynamical phases: an asynchronous state corresponding to a desynchronized dynamics of the neurons and a regime of partial synchronization (PS) associated with a coherent periodic activity of the network. At low connectivity, the system is in an asynchronous state, while PS emerges above a certain critical average connectivity (c). For sufficiently large networks, (c) saturates to a constant value suggesting that a minimal average connectivity is sufficient to observe coherent activity in systems of any size irrespectively of the kind of considered network: sparse or massively connected. However, this value depends on the nature of the synapses: reliable or unreliable. For unreliable synapses, the critical value required to observe the onset of macroscopic behaviors is noticeably smaller than for reliable synaptic transmission. Due to the disorder present in the system, for finite number of neurons we have inhomogeneities in the neuronal behaviors, inducing a weak form of chaos, which vanishes in the thermodynamic limit. In such a limit, the disordered systems exhibit regular (non chaotic) dynamics and their properties correspond to that of a homogeneous fully connected network for any γ-value. Apart for the peculiar exception of sparse networks, which remain intrinsically inhomogeneous at any system size.     

Dynamics of map-based neuronal network with modified spike-timing-dependent plasticity

The effect of adaptive coupling is studied in a neural network of randomly-coupled Rulkov maps. As an adaptive mechanism, we propose a modified spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP) rule with implemented homeostatic property. The comparison of the results of classical and modified STDP shows that the implication of homeostatic property results in significant changes in the network dynamics. Moreover, the neural network with modified STPD demonstrates much more pronounced dynamical changes when internal noise and stimulus amplitudes are varied. The use of the modified rule also leads to decreasing coherence and characteristic correlation time in the system.     

Mechanism for propagation of rate signals through a 10-layer feedforward neuronal network

Using numerical simulations, we explore the mechanism for propagation of rate signals through a 10-layer feedforward network composed of Hodgkin--Huxley (HH) neurons with sparse connectivity. When white noise is afferent to the input layer, neuronal firing becomes progressively more synchronous in successive layers and synchrony is well developed in deeper layers owing to the feedforward connections between neighboring layers. The synchrony ensures the successful propagation of rate signals through the network when the synaptic conductance is weak. As the synaptic time constant τ_syn varies, coherence resonance is observed in the network activity due to the intrinsic property of HH neurons. This makes the output firing rate single-peaked as a function of τ_syn, suggesting that the signal propagation can be modulated by the synaptic time constant. These results are consistent with experimental results and advance our understanding of how information is processed in feedforward networks.     

Self-sustained firing activities of the cortical network with plastic rules in weak AC electrical fields

Both external and endogenous electrical fields widely exist in the environment of cortical neurons. The effects of a weak alternating current (AC) field on a neural network model with synaptic plasticity are studied. It is found that self-sustained rhythmic firing patterns, which are closely correlated with the cognitive functions, are significantly modified due to the self-organizing of the network in the weak AC field. The activities of the neural networks are affected by the synaptic connection strength, the external stimuli, and so on. In the presence of learning rules, the synaptic connections can be modulated by the external stimuli, which will further enhance the sensitivity of the network to the external signal. The properties of the external AC stimuli can serve as control parameters in modulating the evolution of the neural network.     

色噪声背景下微弱正弦信号的混沌检测

提出一种利用混沌在特定状态下对参数的敏感性来实现微弱正弦信号检测的新方案-该方案可以有效地将深陷在色噪声背景中的微弱正弦信号检测出来-给出了混沌检测的方法,分析了混沌检测中噪声对系统状态的影响-仿真实验表明该混沌检测系统对小信号非常敏感，对任何零均值色噪声均具有极强的抑制能力- 关键词： 微弱正弦信号 混沌检测 色噪声 信噪比     

When weak inhibition synchronizes strongly desynchronizing networks of bursting neurons

We show that weak common inhibition applied to a network of bursting neurons with strong desynchronizing connections can induce burst and complete synchronization. We demonstrate that the weak synchronizing inhibition from the same pacemaker neuron can win out over much stronger desynchronizing connections within the network, provided that the neuron's duty cycle is sufficiently long. We also gain insight into how the changes in burst duty cycles can trigger unexpected clusters of synchrony in bursting networks.     

Vibrational resonance in excitable neuronal systems

In this paper, we investigate the effect of a high-frequency driving on the dynamical response of excitable neuronal systems to a subthreshold low-frequency signal by numerical simulation. We demonstrate the occurrence of vibrational resonance in spatially extended neuronal networks. Different network topologies from single small-world networks to modular networks of small-world subnetworks are considered. It is shown that an optimal amplitude of high-frequency driving enhances the response of neuron populations to a low-frequency signal. This effect of vibrational resonance of neuronal systems depends extensively on the network structure and parameters, such as the coupling strength between neurons, network size, and rewiring probability of single small-world networks, as well as the number of links between different subnetworks and the number of subnetworks in the modular networks. All these parameters play a key role in determining the ability of the network to enhance the outreach of the localized subthreshold low-frequency signal. Considering that two-frequency signals are ubiquity in brain dynamics, we expect the presented results could have important implications for the weak signal detection and information propagation across neuronal systems.