Network structure influences self-organized criticality in neural networks with dynamical synapses

Abstract

The brain criticality hypothesis has been a central research topic in theoretical neuroscience for two decades. This hypothesis suggests that the brain operates near the critical point at the boundary between order and disorder, where it acquires its information-processing capabilities. The mechanism that maintains this critical state has been proposed as a feedback system known as self-organized criticality (SOC); brain parameters, such as synaptic plasticity, are regulated internally without external adjustment. Therefore, clarifying how SOC occurs may provide insights into the mechanisms that maintain brain function and cause brain disorders. From the standpoint of neural network structures, the topology of neural circuits also plays a crucial role in information processing, with healthy neural networks exhibiting small world, scale-free, and modular characteristics. However, how these network structures affect SOC remains poorly understood. In this study, we conducted numerical simulations using a simplified neural network model to investigate how network structure may influence SOC. Our results reveal that the time scales at which synaptic plasticity operates to achieve a critical state differ depending on the network structure. Additionally, we observed Dragon king phenomena associated with abnormal neural activity, depending on the network structure and synaptic plasticity time scales. Notably, Dragon king was observed over a wide range of synaptic plasticity time scales in scale-free networks with high-degree hub nodes. These findings highlight the potential importance of neural network topology in shaping SOC dynamics in simplified models of neural systems.