Collective Dynamics in Spiking Neural Networks Beyond Dale's Principle

TL;DR

A minimal model of neurons violating Dale's principle that can exert both excitatory and inhibitory effects is introduced and it is suggested that the population of neurons violating Dales principle may provide an alternative mechanism for regulating large-scale oscillatory activity in neural circuits.

Abstract

Dale's Principle has historically guided neuroscience research as a valuable rule of thumb, namely that all synapses on each neuron release the same set of neurotransmitters. Most existing Spiking Neuron Network models share this dichotomous assumption that neurons are either excitatory or inhibitory; however, recent experimental evidence points towards co-release mechanisms that violate this assumption. Here, we introduce a minimal model of "Bilingual" neurons violating Dale's principle that can exert both excitatory and inhibitory effects. We identify parameter regimes in which this architecture exhibits transitions between synchronous and asynchronous dynamics that differ quantitatively from those observed in a matched monolingual control architecture. We report distinct information-processing signatures both at the level of neurons and higher-order interactions between them near the phase transitions. These results suggest that the population of neurons violating Dales principle may provide an alternative mechanism for regulating large-scale oscillatory activity in neural circuits.

Figures (5)

• Figure 1: Comparison of MFR and Information-Theoretic Measures in the Bilingual model. Each heatmap illustrates their dependence on the base current $I_b$ (y-axis) and the standard deviation of the weight distribution $\sigma$ (x-axis), revealing phase transitions and shifts in information dynamics.
• Figure 2: Out of equilibrium behaviour in the Bilingual model. The plot shows the mean duration of initial noise-driven activity against $\sigma$, capped at 15000ms. As $\sigma$ increases, the system transitions from quiescence to a state where the system increasingly persists out of equilibrium before absorption.
• Figure 3: Raster plots of neuronal firing in the Bilingual model for weak-coupling, synchronous, and asynchronous regimes at $I_b = 4.1$. In these regimes, we respectively observe Regular Spiking, Chattering and Stuttering behaviours of the individual Izhikevich neurons izhbook.
• Figure 4: Comparison of MFR and Information-Theoretic Measures in the Monolingual model. From the heatmaps, we observe a simpler relationship between our control parameters $I_b$ (y-axis) and $\sigma$ (x-axis).
• Figure 5: 1D sections of Entropy Rate and AIS phase plots of the Bilingual model.