title: Decoding synchronized oscillations within the brain: phase-delayed inhibition provides a robust mechanism for creating a sharp synchrony filter.
abstract: The widespread presence of synchronized neuronal oscillations within the brain suggests that a mechanism must exist that is capable of decoding such activity. Two realistic designs for such a decoder include: (1) a read-out neuron with a high spike threshold, or (2) a phase-delayed inhibition network motif. Despite requiring a more elaborate network architecture, phase-delayed inhibition has been observed in multiple systems, suggesting that it may provide inherent advantages over simply imposing a high spike threshold. In this work, we use a computational and mathematical approach to investigate the efficacy of the phase-delayed inhibition motif in detecting synchronized oscillations. We show that phase-delayed inhibition is capable of creating a synchrony detector with sharp synchrony filtering properties that depend critically on the time course of inputs. Additionally, we show that phase-delayed inhibition creates a synchrony filter that is far more robust than that created by a high spike threshold.
authors.affiliation: Mathematics Department, Duke University, Box 90320, Durham, NC 27708-0320, USA. mainak@math.duke.edu
authors.forename: Mainak
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Patel
authors.forename: Badal
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Joshi
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D007395:Interneurons / Q000502:physiology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Feedforward inhibition; Neuronal networks; Phase-delayed inhibition; Synchronized oscillations; Synchrony filter