Synchronization-based computation through networks of coupled oscillators

Abstract

The mesoscopic activity of the brain is strongly dynamical, while at the same time exhibits remarkable computational capabilities. In order to examine how these two features coexist, here we show that the patterns of synchronized oscillations displayed by networks of neural mass models, representing cortical columns, can be used as substrates for Boolean-like computations. Our results reveal that the same neural mass network may process different combinations of dynamical inputs as different logical operations or combinations of them. This dynamical feature of the network allows it to process complex inputs in a very sophisticated manner. The results are reproduced experimentally with electronic circuits of coupled Chua oscillators, showing the robustness of this kind of computation to the intrinsic noise and parameter mismatch of the coupled oscillators. We also show that the information-processing capabilities of coupled oscillations go beyond the simple juxtaposition of logic gates.