Local/Global Analysis of the Stationary Solutions of Some Neural Field Equations

Neural or cortical fields are continuous assemblies of mesoscopic models, also called neural masses, of neural populations that are fundamental in the modeling of macroscopic parts of the brain. Neural fields are described by nonlinear integro-differential equations. The solutions of these equations represent the state of activity of these populations when submitted to inputs from neighbouring brain areas. Understanding the properties of these solutions is essential in advancing our understanding of the brain. In this paper we study the dependency of the stationary solutions of the neural fields equations with respect to the stiffness of the nonlinearity and the contrast of the external inputs. This is done by using degree theory and bifurcation theory in the context of functional, in particular infinite dimensional, spaces. The joint use of these two theories allows us to make new detailed predictions about the global and local behaviours of the solutions. We also provide a generic fi...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2010
• Where: SIAMADS
• Authors: Romain Veltz, Olivier D. Faugeras
• Keywords: Equations, Neural, Neural Field, SIAMADS 2010