Frequency Selectivity of Neural Circuits With Heterogeneous Discrete Transmission Delays

DOI10.1162/NECO_A_01404zbMATH Open1483.92013arXiv2009.09250OpenAlexW3087084370MaRDI QIDQ5033506

Publication date: 23 February 2022

Published in: Neural Computation (Search for Journal in Brave)

Abstract: Neurons are connected to other neurons by axons and dendrites that conduct signals with finite velocities, resulting in delays between the firing of a neuron and the arrival of the resultant impulse at other neurons. Since delays greatly complicate the analytical treatment and interpretation of models, they are usually neglected or taken to be uniform, leading to a lack in the comprehension of the effects of delays in neural systems. This paper shows that heterogeneous transmission delays make small groups of neurons respond selectively to inputs with differing frequency spectra. By studying a single integrate-and-fire neuron receiving correlated time-shifted inputs, it is shown how the frequency response is linked to both the strengths and delay times of the afferent connections. The results show that incorporating delays alters the functioning of neural networks, and changes the effect that neural connections and synaptic strengths have.

Full work available at URL: https://arxiv.org/abs/2009.09250

Mathematics Subject Classification ID

Neural networks for/in biological studies, artificial life and related topics (92B20)