Response of Spiking Neurons to Correlated Inputs

Abstract

The effect of a temporally correlated afferent current on the firing rate of a leaky integrate-and-fire (LIF) neuron is studied. This current is characterized in terms of rates, auto and cross-correlations, and correlation time scale $τ_c$ of excitatory and inhibitory inputs. The output rate $ν_{out}$ is calculated in the Fokker-Planck (FP) formalism in the limit of both small and large $τ_c$ compared to the membrane time constant $τ$ of the neuron. By simulations we check the analytical results, provide an interpolation valid for all $τ_c$ and study the neuron's response to rapid changes in the correlation magnitude.

4 pages, 3 figures