( For some simple networks we know the ...)2 brains -- 1 thought

"For some simple networks we know the activity dynamics, that is, their function, but not their exact structure," explains Memmesheimer. "Any given dynamics can normally be created by a variety of different networks. We have developed a method to mathematically pin down this diversity." This procedure resembles juggling with many unknown quantities and requires great computational power. Already in a network of 1000 neurons (where each neuron can be connected to any other) there are a million possible contacts between any two neurons and consequently an unimaginably large number of possible networks. Each combination can have either an inhibiting or an activating effect on the downstream neuron and, in addition to this, can differ in its intensity and reaction time. The entirety of all possible networks of a defined dynamics resembles a complex figure in a multidimensional space. Here, every point on the surface specifies the data required to determine a network with the desired dynamics. Memmesheimer and Timme have now worked out a mathematical description for this figure.

The researchers examined the applicability of their model on the basis of a concrete question. They calculated all possible networks that generate a given dynamics and simultaneously fulfil a further condition: the structure of the network should be as simple as possible, that is, the number of connections and the strength of the synapses should be minimal. "Applied to a real network, one could for example analyse which structural optimisation principles function in evolution," says Timme. The dynamics of a number of very simple networks that generate repetitive patterns - like the insect walking pattern - are already well-understood. Has evolutionary pressure kept the structural complexity of such networks to a minimum - or could there have been other networks with an even simpler structure, yet possessing the same dynamics? Is it possible that many more networks fulfilling the same f
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Source:Max-Planck-Gesellschaft

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