SFB 303 Discussion Paper No. A - 505
Author: Utikal, Klaus J.
Title: A New Method for Detecting Neural Interconnectivity
Abstract: We propose a class of counting process models for analysing firing
times of an ensemble of neurons. We allow the counting process intensities
to be unspecified, unknown functions of the times passed since the most
recent firings. Under this assumption we derive a class of statistics with
their respective thresholds as well as graphical methods for detecting
neural connectivity. We introduce a model under which detection is shown to
be certain for long series of observations and suggest ways to estimate
strength and classify the interactions as inhibition or excitation. The
power of the proposed methods is compared by simulating observations from
artificial networks. By analysing empirically obtained series we obtain
results which are consistent with those obtained from cross correlation
based methods but in addition obtain new insights on further aspects of the
interactions.
Keywords: neural firing times, inhibition, excitation, spiketrain series,
stochastic dynamical system, counting processes, Markovian interval process,
intensities, martingale dynamics.
JEL-Classification-Number: C12, C13, C14
Creation-Date: December 1995
URL: ../1995/a/bonnsfa505.pdf
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