Controlling Chaos in a Neural Network Based on the Phase Space Constraint

The chaotic neural network constructed with chaotic neurons exhibits very rich dynamic behaviors and has a nonperiodic associative memory. In the chaotic neural network, however, it is dicult to distinguish the stored patters from others, because the states of output of the network are in chaos. In order to apply the nonperiodic associative memory into information search and pattern identication, etc, it is necessary to control chaos in this chaotic neural network. In this paper, the phase space constraint method focused on the chaotic neural network is proposed. By analyzing the orbital of the network in phase space, we chose a part of states to be disturbed. In this way, the evolutional spaces of the strange attractors are constrained. The computer simulation proves that the chaos in the chaotic neural network can be controlled with above method and the network can converge in one of its stored patterns or their reverses which has the smallest Hamming distance with the initial state of the network. The work claries the application prospect of the associative dynamics of the chaotic neural network

A roadmap to integrate astrocytes into Systems Neuroscience.

Systems neuroscience is still mainly a neuronal field, despite the plethora of evidence supporting the fact that astrocytes modulate local neural circuits, networks, and complex behaviors. In this article, we sought to identify which types of studies are necessary to establish whether astrocytes, beyond their well-documented homeostatic and metabolic functions, perform computations implementing mathematical algorithms that sub-serve coding and higher-brain functions. First, we reviewed Systems-like studies that include astrocytes in order to identify computational operations that these cells may perform, using Ca2+ transients as their encoding language. The analysis suggests that astrocytes may carry out canonical computations in a time scale of subseconds to seconds in sensory processing, neuromodulation, brain state, memory formation, fear, and complex homeostatic reflexes. Next, we propose a list of actions to gain insight into the outstanding question of which variables are encoded by such computations. The application of statistical analyses based on machine learning, such as dimensionality reduction and decoding in the context of complex behaviors, combined with connectomics of astrocyte-neuronal circuits, is, in our view, fundamental undertakings. We also discuss technical and analytical approaches to study neuronal and astrocytic populations simultaneously, and the inclusion of astrocytes in advanced modeling of neural circuits, as well as in theories currently under exploration such as predictive coding and energy-efficient coding. Clarifying the relationship between astrocytic Ca2+ and brain coding may represent a leap forward toward novel approaches in the study of astrocytes in health and disease