Sensitive Stochastic Oscillation in Self-Organized Critical States of Small Neural Systems
Sheng-Jun Wang, K. Y. Michael Wong, Changsong Zhou · Rare & Special e-Zone (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology) · 2015
Self-organized critical states and stochastic oscillations are simultaneously observed in neural systems. Here we show that stochastic oscillations can emerge in self-organized criticality of small size neuronal networks. As a result, the oscillation is very sensitive to weak external input and displays phase sensitivity. Our results suggest that finite-size, columnar neural circuits may play an important role in generating neural oscillations around the critical states, potentially enabling functional advantages of both self-organized criticality and oscillations for sensitive response to transient stimuli.