Synchronization in two topologies in the neuron-astrocyte network

The influence of astrocytes on the signal transmission processes in the neural network is the aim of paper studies. The architecture of the neuron-astrocyte network in the form of interacting three rings, corresponding to experimental data on the organization of networks in the brain, was considered. The first ring of the system is an ensemble of excitatory neurons, each of which is stimulated by an uncorrelated Poisson process that simulates the effect of an external neural network. The second ring of the system is a network of inhibitory neurons that receive signals from excitatory neurons, and which are under the influence of astrocytes that form the third ring of the network under consideration. The generation of calcium impulses in astrocytes is induced by the activity of the first ring of the system. The effect of astrocytes is to a change in the amplitudes of the action of excitatory neurons on inhibitory ones, as well as to a change in the effective forces of connections in the second ring. The paper examines the collective dynamics of signaling of inhibitory neurons. In this work, it is shown that the astrocytic regulation of signal transmission between neurons affects the establishment of synchronization of the activity of the neural ensemble at the times of calcium dynamics in astrocytes. It was found that the influence of astrocytes can lead both to the expansion of the synchronization region and to the displacement of its boundaries.