Interactions between Intrinsic and Stimulus-Evoked Activity in Recurrent Neural Networks

Larry F. Abbott, Kanaka Rajan, Haim Sompolinsky

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

47 Scopus citations

Abstract

The central nervous system generates most of its activity internally, yet it remains supremely sensitive to external influences. Ongoing, spontaneous neural activity is comparable in magnitude and complexity to activity evoked by sensory stimuli. How then are stimulus-evoked responses extracted from ongoing background activity to identify real features of the external world? On the basis of both simulations and mathematical analysis of a model that produces complex patterns of activity spontaneously, we argue that sensory-evoked responses actively suppress ongoing intrinsically generated fluctuations. Because of this suppression, trial-to-trial variability of neural responses can be more sensitive to properties of a stimulus, such as its amplitude and frequency, than the mean responses that are typically the focus of electrophysiological studies.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationThe Dynamic Brain
Subtitle of host publicationAn Exploration of Neuronal Variability and Its Functional Significance
PublisherOxford University Press
ISBN (Electronic)9780199897049
ISBN (Print)9780195393798
DOIs
StatePublished - 22 Sep 2011
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Chaos
  • Networks
  • Noise suppression
  • Spontaneous activity
  • Variability

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