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bioRxiv · 10.1101/2020.02.25.964965

Top-down Control of Inhibition Reshapes Neural Dynamics Giving Rise to a Diversity of Computations

Chen, Z.·Padmanabhan, K.
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Abstract

Growing evidence shows that top-down projections from excitatory neurons in higher brain areas selectively synapse onto local inhibitory interneurons in sensory systems. While this connectivity is conserved across sensory modalities, the role of this feedback in shaping the dynamics of local circuits, and the resultant computational benefits it provides remains poorly understood. Using rate models of neuronal firing in a network consisting of excitatory, inhibitory and top-down populations, we found that changes in the weight of feedback to inhibitory neurons generated diverse network dynamics and complex transitions between these dynamics. Additionally, modulation of the weight of top-down feedback supported a number of computations, including both pattern separation and oscillatory synchrony. A bifurcation analysis of the network identified a new mechanism by which gamma oscillations could be generated in a model of neural circuits, which we termed Top-down control of Inhibitory Neuron Gamma (TING). We identified the unique roles that top-down feedback of inhibition plays in shaping network dynamics and computation, and the ways in which these dynamics can be deployed to process sensory inputs. Significance StatementThe functional role of feedback projections, connecting excitatory neurons in higher brain areas to inhibitory neurons in primary sensory regions, remains a fundamental open question in neuroscience. Growing evidence suggests that this architecture is recapitulated across a diverse array of sensory systems, ranging from vision to olfaction. Using a rate model of top-down feedback onto inhibition, we found that changes in the weight of feedback support both pattern separation and oscillatory synchrony, including a mechanism by which top-down inputs could entrain gamma oscillations within local networks. These dual functions were accomplished via a codimension-2 bifurcation in the dynamical system. Our results highlight a key role for this top-down feedback, gating inhibition to facilitate often diametrically different local computations.

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Chen, Z., Padmanabhan, K.. 2020-02-26. Top-down Control of Inhibition Reshapes Neural Dynamics Giving Rise to a Diversity of Computations. https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.02.25.964965

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