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Canonical Cortical Circuit Model Explains Rivalry, Intermittent Rivalry, and Rivalry Memory
Shashaank Vattikuti1, Phyllis Thangaraj1, Hua W Xie1
1Mathematical Biology Section, Laboratory of Biological Modeling, National Institutes of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disease, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.
Plos Computational Biology
|May 4, 2016
Summary
A simple neural circuit model explains visual perception, including dynamic stimuli like intermittent rivalry and memory. Adding background neural activity allows the model to reproduce these complex phenomena without altering its success with static stimuli.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Computational Neuroscience
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Canonical cortical circuit models with mutual inhibition and fatigue explain static perceptual rivalry.
- These models have been insufficient for dynamic inputs like intermittent rivalry and rivalry memory.
- This limitation challenges the universality of the basic canonical cortical circuit model.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate that a basic canonical cortical circuit model can explain both static and dynamic perceptual phenomena.
- To investigate the role of background neural activity in perceptual rivalry and memory.
- To challenge the notion that complex mechanisms are required for dynamic rivalry phenomena.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a canonical cortical circuit model incorporating mutual inhibition and fatigue.
- Introduced a small, nonspecific background neural activity into the model.
- Analyzed the model's ability to reproduce static rivalry, intermittent rivalry, and rivalry memory.
- Proved the existence conditions for the proposed short-term memory mechanism.
Main Results:
- The model, with added background neural activity, successfully reproduced intermittent rivalry and rivalry memory.
- The background activity induced a robust mutual-inhibition mechanism for short-term memory.
- The enhanced model did not compromise its ability to explain static rivalry and other cortical phenomena.
- The model explained experimental results from the quartet apparent motion illusion.
Conclusions:
- A basic canonical cortical circuit model, augmented with background neural activity, can explain a wide range of perceptual rivalry phenomena, including dynamic and memory-related aspects.
- Background neural activity provides a parsimonious mechanism for short-term memory in neural circuits, robust to noise.
- The universality of the canonical cortical circuit model is supported by the inclusion of realistic background neural activity.
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