Network structure of cascading neural systems predicts stimulus propagation and recovery

Abstract

Objective. Many neural systems display spontaneous, spatiotemporal patterns of neural activity that are crucial for information processing. While these cascading patterns presumably arise from the underlying network of synaptic connections between neurons, the precise contribution of the network’s local and global connectivity to these patterns and information processing remains largely unknown. Approach. Here, we demonstrate how network structure supports information processing through network dynamics in empirical and simulated spiking neurons using mathematical tools from linear systems theory, network control theory, and information theory. Main results. In particular, we show that activity, and the information that it contains, travels through cycles in real and simulated networks. Significance. Broadly, our results demonstrate how cascading neural networks could contribute to cognitive faculties that require lasting activation of neuronal patterns, such as working memory or attention.