Criticality-and-synchronization-in-Wilson-Cowan-and-Jansen-Rit-models

Project Description:

We compared the dynamics of two seminal neural mass models,
representing the integration of many neurons within a population. We investigated phase
synchronization and criticality in two voltage-based (JR) and rate-based (WC) neural mass
models. The two models were utilized in the same structural network representing the same
topology. We observed two profound phenomena in brain activity. First, the global
synchronicity of these networks was calculated by considering the Kuramoto order parameter.

Abstract:

Synchronization is a phenomenon observed in neuronal networks involved in
diverse brain activities. Neural mass models such as Wilson-Cowan (WC) and Jansen-Rit (JR)
manifest synchronized states. Despite extensive research on these models over the past several
decades, their potential of manifesting second-order phase transitions (SOPT) and criticality has
not been sufficiently acknowledged. In this study, two networks of coupled WC and JR nodes
with small-world topologies were constructed and Kuramoto order parameter (KOP) was used
to quantify the amount of synchronization. In addition, we investigated the presence of SOPT
using the synchronization coefficient of variation. Both networks reached high synchrony by
changing the coupling weight between their nodes. Moreover, they exhibited abrupt changes in
the synchronization at certain values of the control parameter not necessarily related to a
phase transition. While SOPT was observed only in JR model, neither WC nor JR model showed
power-law behavior. Our study further investigated the global synchronization phenomenon
that is known to exist in pathological brain states, such as seizure. JR model showed global
synchronization, while WC model seemed to be more suitable in producing partially
synchronized patterns.

Authors:

Sheida Kazemi, AmirAli Farokhniaee, Yousef Jamali