In the first case, they reconstructed the common input for localized neurons with similar firing rates. They considered three distinct cases of neuron firing patterns. The team used the standard Izhikevich model to study the firings of uncoupled neurons. The SRP method used by the team in their work is simply an RP in which a pixel value is summed across corresponding pixels of multiple RPs and then assigned a binary value of 0 or 1 based on whether the sum is equal to or greater than 1. “Since neurons are nonlinear dynamical systems, we can hypothetically obtain information about a common input if we balance out the effects of neural dynamics.” RP was originally introduced to characterize nonlinear dynamical systems since they contain multidimensional information, despite providing only two-dimensional visualization,” explains Prof. “ We developed a method that uses a recurrence plot (RP). The team, comprising Associate Professor Ryota Nomura of Waseda University (formerly TUS), and Associate Professor Kantaro Fujiwara of The University of Tokyo, looked at the firing rates of neurons and managed to reconstruct the input signal using a method called “superposed recurrence plot” (SRP). In a new study published in Volume 106, Issue 3 of Physical Review E on 12 September 2022, a team of researchers from Japan, led by Professor Tohru Ikeguchi from Tokyo University of Science (TUS), set out to answer this question.

This raises an interesting question: is it possible to reconstruct this input by looking at the output of the neurons? However, the common inputs which produce this are typically unknown in real-world situations. The neural synchronization has been observed before in experiments, and are commonly demonstrated during rest and activities involving tasks. Put simply, common inputs can generate a collective response in neurons that are not only spatially separated but also have different firing characteristics. But, what is truly remarkable about our brain is the synchronization of this neural firing when triggered by a common input. On average, the human brain contains 100 billion neurons that fire upon receiving input signals from multiple sensory organs. view moreĬredit: Birth Into Being from flickr (Image source: brain is an extremely complex organ whose exact functioning remains difficult to understand. Now, researchers from Japan have managed to reconstruct this common input by analyzing neuron firing rates. But, this common input is usually unrecognized. Image: Our brain neurons have the remarkable ability to fire synchronously when triggered with a common input.

Brain neurons firing