Our brain plays Jazz: Information processing in a self-organized and multi-scale system

My research is focused on understanding how information processing and
cognition can arise from the collective self-organization of elements
interacting across many spatial and temporal scales. Here I will present,
first an overview of my data driven research and, second a new principle
mechanism for self organized information processing in complex neuronal
networks. I will close my talk with an outlook to future research.

Part One:
Zero time lag synchronisation has been frequently reported in experimental
studies. Remarkably, synchrony of neuronal activity is not limited to
short-range interactions within a cortical patch, but often extends over
remote cortical sites that are coupled with substantial delays. Therefore,
zero time lag synchrony among such distant neuronal ensembles must be
established by mechanisms that are able to compensate for the delays
involved in the neuronal communication. In this first part I am presenting
models that show that a v-shape network motif and certain network topologies
(random and scale free networks) cause neural populations to fire in unison
despite long coupling delays.

Part Two: Reservoir computing originally introduced in the context of echo
state or liquid state machines (LSM) has been proposed as a promising
computational model for information processing in complex networks.
Reservoir computing is a universal framework for computation, such as
prediction, classification and memorization of information contained in time
varying input streams. Here, I am going to present an extension of the
original concept of the LSM that incorporates self organization based on
neuronal plasticity. It considers two types, first spike timing dependent
plasticity (STDP) that changes the synaptic strength and has been associated
with sequence learning, and second intrinsic plasticity (IP) that changes
the excitability of individual neurons to maintain homeostasis. We
demonstrate that the combination of both types, first optimizes the
information processing, second leads to self-organized criticality of the
network dynamics, and third that intrinsic noise introduced by the intrinsic
plasticity increases the robustness of information processing in a high
noise regime.