Impact of neuronal aggregation: burst-originating neurons

Abstract

This study explores the spatial distribution of burst-initiating neurons in simulated 2D neuronal cultures with a toroidal topology, in relation to the global network structure and its activity dynamics. A total of 25 simulations were conducted with varying levels of spatial aggregation, using the Izhikevich model, which is inspired by real neurons. The results show that, as the overall population becomes more spatially aggregated, the burst-initiating neurons also tend to cluster, reaching a plateau for population Gini coefficients above 0.5. In vivo results for the homogeneous case are consistent with this study, lending support to the non-experimentally tested scenarios. Moreover, more aggregated networks tend to exhibit higher burst frequencies, although a stable frequency of approximately 3.9 bursts per second is maintained.