Spiking neural networks reach a new level
Three studies recently published within just one month by the journal Cerebral Cortex present new models of spiking networks in the brain. Electrical spikes of neurons are at the core of neural information processing. With millions of neurons and billions of synapses, the new generation of open models are powerful tools to study the complex dynamics in large networks, with implications for basic neuroscience, neuromorphic computing and AI. On EBRAINS, researchers will be able to use the large-scale neuronal network models as adaptable building blocks in their investigations and combine them with other brain simulation tools across scales. (Source: Forschungszentrum Jülich – Press Releases)
Spikes are electric impulses that a neuron can fire out to all its connected cells. These signals are key to the relay of information in the brain. The way they originate at the neurons and can be recorded with different methods, but practical limitations prevent us from being able to experimentally trace the spiking in more than a few hundred neurons simultaneously on the scale of larger networks.
New computational models with enhanced network size and complexity now give a window into phenomena in the brain that occur in interactions across large spiking networks. The mathematical models are based on abstract networks with simplified point neurons and investigated with the NEST simulator on EBRAINS. The new models expand from a previous highly detailed microcircuit model representing neuronal network of below a square millimeter of cortical surface.
The three new models reflect further cell types, larger cortical volumes and the incorporation of long-range connectivity. The full-scale models of the neuronal network in cortical tissue replicate the enormous density of connections of neurons and synapses found in nature. Network dynamics therefore can be studied at a large scale, while the behavior of the individual elements is traceable at all points.
Investigations across a range of scales
To go even deeper, the network simulations can be connected to LFPy, a simulation engine on EBRAINS for the study of electrical fields based on highly detailed neuron models. Similarly, NEST also has an interface for co-simulation with The Virtual Brain on EBRAINS, a whole-brain network simulation engine based on mean-field models. For researchers this enables so-called multiscale investigations – spanning the macroscopic level, the large-scale network level, and the level of morphologically detailed neurons.
The new papers in detail
Detailed descriptions of the studies and comments by the lead scientists, Prof. Dr. Sacha van Albada and Dr. Johanna Senk, can be found on the EBRAINS website.
FZJ/A. Tipping, 03.12.2024
The original press release can be found at:
Spiking neural networks reach a new level
Localization in Helmholtz Information:
Helmholtz Information, Joint Lab: Supercomputing and Modeling for the Human Brain (SMHB)
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Sacha van Albada
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS)
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), Computational and Systems Neuroscience
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Phone: +49 2461/61-96808
E-Mail: s.van.albada@fz-juelich.de
Dr. Johanna Senk
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS)
Institute for Advanced Simulation (IAS-6), Computational and Systems Neuroscience
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Phone: +49 2461/61-9466
E-Mail: j.senk@fz-juelich.de
Contact for this press release:
Anna Tipping
Press Officer
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Phone: +49 2461 61-5281
E-Mail: a.tipping@fz-juelich.de
About Helmholtz Information:
The Research Field “Helmholtz Information” is one of the six research fields of the Helmholtz Association and serves as its digital innovation center. Here, advanced and future computer architectures merge with insights from materials research, data science, and life sciences. Inspired by nature, supported by brain research, and enriched by modern approaches in artificial intelligence, experts from the Forschungszentrum Jülich, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin are shaping the digital future in science, business, and everyday life.
Visit our official website and follow us on our LinkedIn channel of Helmholtz Information to receive up-to-date information, event announcements, and insights into our research activities in Helmholtz Information.
