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Abstract Modeling the functionality of the human brain is a major goal in neuroscience for which many powerful methodologies have been developed over the last decade. The impact of working memory and the associated brain regions on the brain dynamics is of particular interest due to their connection with many functions and malfunctions in the brain. In this context, the concept of brain flexibility has been developed for the characterization of brain functionality. We discuss emergence of brain flexibility that is commonly measured by the identification of changes in the cluster structure of co-active brain regions. We provide evidence that brain flexibility can be modeled by a system of coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators where the network structure is obtained from human brain Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI). Additionally, we propose a straightforward and computationally efficient alternative macroscopic measure, which is derived from the Pearson distance of functional brain matrices. This metric exhibits similarities to the established patterns of brain template flexibility that have been observed in prior investigations. Furthermore, we explore the significance of the brain’s network structure and the strength of connections between network nodes or brain regions associated with working memory in the observation of patterns in networks flexibility. This work enriches our understanding of the interplay between the structure and function of dynamic brain networks and proposes a modeling strategy to study brain flexibility.

Partially synchronized solitary states occur frequently when a synchronized system of networked oscillators with inertia is perturbed locally. Several asymptotic states of different frequencies can coexist at the same node. Here, we reveal the mechanism behind this multistability: additional solitary frequencies arise from the coupling between network modes and the solitary oscillator’s frequency, leading to significant energy transfer. This can cause the solitary node’s frequency to resonate with a Laplacian eigenvalue. We analyze which network structures enable this resonance and explain longstanding numerical observations. Another solitary state that is known in the literature is characterized by the effective decoupling of the synchronized network and the solitary node at the natural frequency. Our framework unifies the description of solitary states near and far from resonance, allowing to predict the behavior of complex networks from their topology.

Development of deep neural networks benefits from new approaches and perspectives. Stelzer et al. propose to fold a deep neural network of arbitrary size into a single neuron with multiple time-delayed feedback loops which is also of relevance for new hardware implementations and applications.

The Arecchi-Bonifacio (or Maxwell-Bloch) model is the benchmark for the description of active optical media. However, in the presence of a fast relaxation of the atomic polarization, its implementation is a challenging task even in the simple ring-laser configuration, due to the presence of multiple timescales. In this paper we show that the dynamics is nearly Hamiltonian over timescales much longer than those of the cavity losses. More precisely, we prove that it can be represented as a pseudo spatiotemporal pattern generated by a nonlinear wave equation equipped with a Toda potential. The existence of two constants of motion (identified as pseudo energies), thereby elucidates the reason why it is so hard to simplify the original model: the adiabatic elimination of the polarization must be accurate enough to describe the dynamics correctly over unexpectedly long timescales. Finally, since the nonlinear wave equation with Toda potential can be simulated on much longer times than the previous models, this opens up the route to the numerical (and theoretical) investigation of realistic setups.

This work introduces a methodology for studying synchronization in adaptive networks with heterogeneous plasticity (adaptation) rules. As a paradigmatic model, we consider a network of adaptively coupled phase oscillators with distance-dependent adaptations. For this system, we extend the master stability function approach to adaptive networks with heterogeneous adaptation. Our method allows for separating the contributions of network structure, local node dynamics, and heterogeneous adaptation in determining synchronization. Utilizing our proposed methodology, we explain mechanisms leading to synchronization or desynchronization by enhanced long-range connections in nonlocally coupled ring networks and networks with Gaussian distance-dependent coupling weights equipped with a biologically motivated plasticity rule.

We report the phenomenon of frequency clustering in a network of Hodgkin-Huxley neurons with spike timing-dependent plasticity. The clustering leads to a splitting of a neural population into a few groups synchronized at different frequencies. In this regime, the amplitude of the mean field undergoes low-frequency modulations, which may contribute to the mechanism of the emergence of slow oscillations of neural activity observed in spectral power of local field potentials or electroencephalographic signals at high frequencies. In addition to numerical simulations of such multi-clusters, we investigate the mechanisms of the observed phenomena using the simplest case of two clusters. In particular, we propose a phenomenological model which describes the dynamics of two clusters taking into account the adaptation of coupling weights. We also determine the set of plasticity functions (update rules), which lead to multi-clustering.