Effect of synaptic plasticity in the structure and dynamics of disordered networks of coupled neurons

TL;DR

This paper investigates how spike timing-dependent plasticity influences the structure and synchronization of disordered neural networks, showing that faster neurons become more influential and synchronization is facilitated.

Contribution

It reveals how synaptic plasticity shapes network structure and dynamics, emphasizing the role of faster neurons in synchronization within disordered oscillator networks.

Findings

Faster neurons tend to strengthen their outgoing links.

Synaptic plasticity leads to a directed flow favoring faster neurons.

Synchronization is achieved with reduced synaptic cost.

Abstract

In an all-to-all network of integrate-fire oscillators in which there is a disorder in the intrinsic firing rates of the neurons, we show that through spike timing-dependent plasticity the links which have the faster oscillators as presynaptic, tend to be strengthened while the links originated from the slow spiking neurons are weakened. The emergent effective flow of directed connections, introduces the faster neurons as the more influent elements in the network and facilitates synchronization by decreasing the synaptic cost for onset of synchronization.