Traveling pulses in a stochastic neural field model of direction selectivity
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Published version
Author(s)
Bressloff, Paul C
Wilkerson, Jeremy
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
We analyze the effects of extrinsic noise on traveling pulses in a neural field model of direction selectivity. The model consists of a one-dimensional scalar neural field with an asymmetric weight distribution consisting of an offset Mexican hat function. We first show how, in the absence of any noise, the system supports spontaneously propagating traveling pulses that can lock to externally moving stimuli. Using a separation of time-scales and perturbation methods previously developed for stochastic reaction-diffusion equations, we then show how extrinsic noise in the activity variables leads to a diffusive-like displacement (wandering) of the wave from its uniformly translating position at long time-scales, and fluctuations in the wave profile around its instantaneous position at short time-scales. In the case of freely propagating pulses, the wandering is characterized by pure Brownian motion, whereas in the case of stimulus-locked pulses, it is given by an Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process. This establishes that stimulus-locked pulses are more robust to noise.
Date Issued
2012-10
Date Acceptance
2012-10-10
Citation
Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience, 2012, 6
ISSN
1662-5188
Publisher
Frontiers Media S.A.
Journal / Book Title
Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience
Volume
6
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2012 Bressloff and Wilkerson. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited and subject to any copyright notices concerning any third-party graphics etc.
License URL
Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fncom.2012.00090
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
90
Date Publish Online
2012-10-29