Metamodelling of a two-population spiking neural network

• Published in: PLoS computational biology 2023-11, Vol.19 (11), p.e1011625-e1011625
• Main Authors: Skaar, Jan-Eirik W, Haug, Nicolai, Stasik, Alexander J, Einevoll, Gaute T, Tøndel, Kristin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Approximation; Behavior; Biology and Life Sciences; Computational neuroscience; Computer and Information Sciences; Conditional probability; Connectivity; Differential equations; Discovery and exploration; Distribution (Probability theory); Electrophysiological recording; Firing pattern; Funding; Gaussian process; Mathematical models; Medicine and Health Sciences; Metamodels; Morphology; Neural circuitry; Neural networks; Neurons; Neurosciences; Outer space; Parameter identification; Power spectra; Probability distribution; Random variables; Research and Analysis Methods; Simulation; Social Sciences; Spiking; Statistical analysis; Stochastic models
• ISSN: 1553-7358; 1553-734X; 1553-7358
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1011625

In computational neuroscience, hypotheses are often formulated as bottom-up mechanistic models of the systems in question, consisting of differential equations that can be numerically integrated forward in time. Candidate models can then be validated by comparison against experimental data. The model outputs of neural network models depend on both neuron parameters, connectivity parameters and other model inputs. Successful model fitting requires sufficient exploration of the model parameter space, which can be computationally demanding. Additionally, identifying degeneracy in the parameters, i.e. different combinations of parameter values that produce similar outputs, is of interest, as they define the subset of parameter values consistent with the data. In this computational study, we apply metamodels to a two-population recurrent spiking network of point-neurons, the so-called Brunel network. Metamodels are data-driven approximations to more complex models with more desirable computational properties, which can be run considerably faster than the original model. Specifically, we apply and compare two different metamodelling techniques, masked autoregressive flows (MAF) and deep Gaussian process regression (DGPR), to estimate the power spectra of two different signals; the population spiking activities and the local field potential. We find that the metamodels are able to accurately model the power spectra in the asynchronous irregular regime, and that the DGPR metamodel provides a more accurate representation of the simulator compared to the MAF metamodel. Using the metamodels, we estimate the posterior probability distributions over parameters given observed simulator outputs separately for both LFP and population spiking activities. We find that these distributions correctly identify parameter combinations that give similar model outputs, and that some parameters are significantly more constrained by observing the LFP than by observing the population spiking activities.