Neural oscillations as a signature of efficient coding in the presence of synaptic delays

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Abstract

Cortical networks exhibit 'global oscillations', where neural spikes are entrained to an underlying oscillatory rhythm, but where individual neurons fire irregularly. While the network dynamics underlying global oscillations are well characterised, their function is debated. Here, we show that such global oscillations are a direct consequence of optimal efficient coding in spiking networks with synaptic delays. To avoid firing unnecessary spikes, neurons must share information about the network state. Ideally, membrane potentials should be correlated and reflect a 'prediction error' while spikes themselves are uncorrelated and occur rarely. We show that the most efficient representation is achieved when: (i) spikes are entrained to a global Gamma rhythm (implying a consistent representation of the error); but (ii) few neurons fire on each cycle (implying high efficiency), while (iii) excitation and inhibition are tightly balanced. This suggests that cortical networks exhibiting such dynamics are tuned to achieve a maximally efficient population code.

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Matthew Chalk

Institute of Science and Technology Austria, Klosterneuburg, Austria

For correspondence
matthewjchalk@gmail.com

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

"This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0001-7782-4436
Boris Gutkin

École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Sophie Denève

École Normale Supérieure, Paris, France

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

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