20 research outputs found
A framework for detection and classification of events in neural activity
We present a method for the real time prediction of punctate events in neural
activity, based on the time-frequency spectrum of the signal, applicable both
to continuous processes like local field potentials (LFP) as well as to spike
trains. We test it on recordings of LFP and spiking activity acquired
previously from the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) of macaque monkeys
performing a memory-saccade task. In contrast to earlier work, where trials
with known start times were classified, our method detects and classifies
trials directly from the data. It provides a means to quantitatively compare
and contrast the content of LFP signals and spike trains: we find that the
detector performance based on the LFP matches the performance based on spike
rates. The method should find application in the development of neural
prosthetics based on the LFP signal. Our approach uses a new feature vector,
which we call the 2D cepstrum.Comment: 30 pages, 6 figures; This version submitted to the IEEE Transactions
in Biomedical Engineerin
The Link Overlap and Finite Size Effects for the 3D Ising Spin Glass
We study the link overlap between two replicas of an Ising spin glass in
three dimensions using the Migdal-Kadanoff approximation and scaling arguments
based on the droplet picture. For moderate system sizes, the distribution of
the link overlap shows the asymmetric shape and large sample-to-sample
variations found in Monte Carlo simulations and usually attributed to replica
symmetry breaking. However, the scaling of the width of the distribution, and
the link overlap in the presence of a weak coupling between the two replicas
are in agreement with the droplet picture. We also discuss why it is impossible
to see the asymptotic droplet-like behaviour for moderate system sizes and
temperatures not too far below the critical temperature.Comment: 7 pages, 10 figure
A Method for Detection and Classification of Events in Neural Activity
We present a method for the real time prediction of punctuate events in neural activity, based on the time-frequency spectrum of the signal, applicable both to continuous processes like local field potentials (LFPs) as well as to spike trains. We test it on recordings of LFP and spiking activity acquired previously from the lateral intraparietal area (LIP) of macaque monkeys performing a memory-saccade task. In contrast to earlier work, where trials with known start times were classified, our method detects and classifies trials directly from the data. It provides a means to quantitatively compare and contrast the content of LFP signals and spike trains: we find that the detector performance based on the LFP matches the performance based on spike rates. The method should find application in the development of neural prosthetics based on the LFP signal. Our approach uses a new feature vector, which we call the 2d cepstrum
Spin glasses without time-reversal symmetry and the absence of a genuine structural glass transition
We study the three-spin model and the Ising spin glass in a field using
Migdal-Kadanoff approximation. The flows of the couplings and fields indicate
no phase transition, but they show even for the three-spin model a slow
crossover to the asymptotic high-temperature behaviour for strong values of the
couplings. We also evaluated a quantity that is a measure of the degree of
non-self-averaging, and we found that it can become large for certain ranges of
the parameters and the system sizes. For the spin glass in a field the maximum
of non-self-averaging follows for given system size a line that resembles the
de Almeida-Thouless line. We conclude that non-self-averaging found in
Monte-Carlo simulations cannot be taken as evidence for the existence of a
low-temperature phase with replica-symmetry breaking. Models similar to the
three-spin model have been extensively discussed in order to provide a
description of structural glasses. Their theory at mean-field level resembles
the mode-coupling theory of real glasses. At that level the one-step replica
symmetry approach breaking predicts two transitions, the first transition being
dynamical and the second thermodynamical. Our results suggest that in real
finite dimensional glasses there will be no genuine transitions at all, but
that some features of mean-field theory could still provide some useful
insights.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figure
Comment on "General Method to Determine Replica Symmetry Breaking Transitions"
In a recent letter Marinari et al [Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 1698 (1998)]
introduced a new method to study spin glass transitions and argued that by
probing replica symmetry (RS) as opposed to time reversal symmetry (TRS), their
method unambiguously shows that replica symmetry breaking (RSB) occurs in
short-range spin glasses. In this comment we show that while the new method is
indeed useful for studying transitions in systems where TRS is absent (such as
the p-spin model studied by them), the conclusion that it shows the existence
of RSB in short-range spin glasses is wrong.Comment: 1 page, RevTe
Synaptic network structure shapes cortically evoked spatio-temporal responses of STN and GPe neurons in a computational model
IntroductionThe basal ganglia (BG) are involved in motor control and play an essential role in movement disorders such as hemiballismus, dystonia, and Parkinson's disease. Neurons in the motor part of the BG respond to passive movement or stimulation of different body parts and to stimulation of corresponding cortical regions. Experimental evidence suggests that the BG are organized somatotopically, i.e., specific areas of the body are associated with specific regions in the BG nuclei. Signals related to the same body part that propagate along different pathways converge onto the same BG neurons, leading to characteristic shapes of cortically evoked responses. This suggests the existence of functional channels that allow for the processing of different motor commands or information related to different body parts in parallel. Neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease are associated with pathological activity in the BG and impaired synaptic connectivity, together with reorganization of somatotopic maps. One hypothesis is that motor symptoms are, at least partly, caused by an impairment of network structure perturbing the organization of functional channels.MethodsWe developed a computational model of the STN-GPe circuit, a central part of the BG. By removing individual synaptic connections, we analyzed the contribution of signals propagating along different pathways to cortically evoked responses. We studied how evoked responses are affected by systematic changes in the network structure. To quantify the BG's organization in the form of functional channels, we suggested a two-site stimulation protocol.ResultsOur model reproduced the cortically evoked responses of STN and GPe neurons and the contributions of different pathways suggested by experimental studies. Cortical stimulation evokes spatio-temporal response patterns that are linked to the underlying synaptic network structure. Our two-site stimulation protocol yielded an approximate functional channel width.Discussion/conclusionThe presented results provide insight into the organization of BG synaptic connectivity, which is important for the development of computational models. The synaptic network structure strongly affects the processing of cortical signals and may impact the generation of pathological rhythms. Our work may motivate further experiments to analyze the network structure of BG nuclei and their organization in functional channels
The influence of critical behavior on the spin glass phase
We have argued in recent papers that Monte Carlo results for the equilibrium
properties of the Edwards-Anderson spin glass in three dimensions, which had
been interpreted earlier as providing evidence for replica symmetry breaking,
can be explained quite simply within the droplet model once finite size effects
and proximity to the critical point are taken into account. In this paper, we
show that similar considerations are sufficient to explain the Monte Carlo data
in four dimensions. In particular, we study the Parisi overlap and the link
overlap for the four-dimensional Ising spin glass in the Migdal-Kadanoff
approximation. Similar to what is seen in three dimensions, we find that
temperatures well below those studied in Monte Carlo simulations have to be
reached before the droplet model predictions become apparent. We also show that
the double-peak structure of the link overlap distribution function is related
to the difference between domain-wall excitations that cross the entire system
and droplet excitations that are confined to a smaller region.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
Evidence for the droplet/scaling picture of spin glasses
We have studied the Parisi overlap distribution for the three dimensional
Ising spin glass in the Migdal-Kadanoff approximation. For temperatures T
around 0.7Tc and system sizes upto L=32, we found a P(q) as expected for the
full Parisi replica symmetry breaking, just as was also observed in recent
Monte Carlo simulations on a cubic lattice. However, for lower temperatures our
data agree with predictions from the droplet or scaling picture. The failure to
see droplet model behaviour in Monte Carlo simulations is due to the fact that
all existing simulations have been done at temperatures too close to the
transition temperature so that sytem sizes larger than the correlation length
have not been achieved.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure
Novel glassy behavior in a ferromagnetic p-spin model
Recent work has suggested the existence of glassy behavior in a ferromagnetic
model with a four-spin interaction. Motivated by these findings, we have
studied the dynamics of this model using Monte Carlo simulations with
particular attention being paid to two-time quantities. We find that the system
shares many features in common with glass forming liquids. In particular, the
model exhibits: (i) a very long-lived metastable state, (ii) autocorrelation
functions that show stretched exponential relaxation, (iii) a non-equilibrium
timescale that appears to diverge at a well defined temperature, and (iv) low
temperature aging behaviour characteristic of glasses.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure