Modeling statistical dependencies in multi-region spike train data

Neural computations underlying cognition and behavior rely on the coordination of neural activity across multiple brain areas. Understanding how brain areas interact to process information or generate behavior is thus a central question in neuroscience. Here we provide an overview of statistical approaches for characterizing statistical dependencies in multi-region spike train recordings. We focus on two classes of models in particular: regression-based models and shared latent variable models. Regression-based models describe interactions in terms of a directed transformation of information from one region to another. Shared latent variable models, on the other hand, seek to describe interactions in terms of sources that capture common fluctuations in spiking activity across regions. We discuss the advantages and limitations of each of these approaches and future directions for the field. We intend this review to be an introduction to the statistical methods in multi-region models for computational neuroscientists and experimentalists alike.