Neuronal sync survives feedback: arXiv study shows bistability persists
Bidirectional brain connections still allow anticipatory firing — here's how
A new computational study from researchers at [institution] — Julio Machado, Joana Silva, Katiele Brito, Rodrigo Pena, and Fernanda Matias — challenges the assumption that anticipatory synchronization (AS) requires strictly one-way neural connections. In AS, a receiving neuron population fires before the sending population, creating a negative phase lag. The team modeled cortical-like populations with bidirectional excitatory feedback and found AS remains robust, alongside bistable regimes where the system flips between anticipating and delayed firing.
The authors identify distinct transition pathways: depending on inhibitory coupling strength, the shift from AS to delayed synchronization (DS) can happen either through a bistable phase or via zero-lag synchronization. Their model reproduces a broad repertoire of phase relations — positive, negative, zero-lag, bistable, and drifting — matching diversity seen in real electrophysiological recordings. The key takeaway: fixed structural connectivity can support flexible functional dynamics, meaning the brain may reconfigure its synchrony patterns without physically rewiring synapses.
- Anticipated synchronization (receiver leads sender) survives bidirectional excitatory feedback in cortical population models
- Phase bistability (switching between anticipatory and delayed sync) remains robust under reciprocal coupling
- Transition routes from AS to DS depend on inhibitory coupling — via bistability or zero-lag locking
- Model reproduces diverse phase patterns consistent with electrophysiological recordings
Why It Matters
Shows brain networks can rapidly reconfigure synchrony patterns without rewiring — key for understanding flexible cognition.