English

Effective Stimulus Propagation in Neural Circuits: Driver Node Selection

Neurons and Cognition 2025-08-18 v4 Neural and Evolutionary Computing Quantitative Methods

Abstract

Precise control of signal propagation in modular neural networks represents a fundamental challenge in computational neuroscience. We establish a framework for identifying optimal control nodes that maximize stimulus transmission between weakly coupled neural populations. Using spiking stochastic block model networks, we systematically compare driver node selection strategies - including random sampling and topology-based centrality measures (degree, betweenness, closeness, eigenvector, harmonic, and percolation centrality) - to determine minimal control inputs for achieving inter-population synchronization. Targeted stimulation of just 10-20% of the most central neurons in the source population significantly enhances spiking propagation fidelity compared to random selection. This approach yields a 64-fold increase in signal transfer efficiency at critical inter-module connection densities. These findings establish a theoretical foundation for precision neuromodulation in biological neural systems and neurotechnology applications.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2506.13615,
  title  = {Effective Stimulus Propagation in Neural Circuits: Driver Node Selection},
  author = {Bulat Batuev and Arsenii Onuchin and Sergey Sukhov},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2506.13615},
  year   = {2025}
}
R2 v1 2026-07-01T03:19:56.513Z