Spiking neural network model simulates basic brain self-awareness rhythms
A Spiking Neural Network Model of Elementary Self-Consciousness via Endogenous Default Mode Network Dynamics
Neural and Evolutionary Computing
Summary
Understanding how the brain creates a sense of self-awareness is a tough problem. The authors built a detailed computer model simulating key brain areas with 10,000 nerve-like units called neurons. Their model shows how internal brain rhythms can keep a kind of ongoing 'self' signal alive even without outside input. This helps explain how baseline self-consciousness might emerge from brain activity.
What this means in practice
- •For neural network engineers: Design brain-inspired neural networks that sustain internal states without constant external input, improving autonomous system stability.
- •For medical device developers: Develop brain-computer interfaces that mimic endogenous brain rhythms to enhance treatment of disorders affecting self-awareness and intrinsic brain activity.
Authors
R. Lahoz-Beltra
Abstract
Understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying self-referential cognition and baseline self-consciousness remains a fundamental challenge in computational neuroscience. In this work, we propose a large-scale computational model incorporating a 10,000-neuron spiking neural network (SNN) based on Izhikevich dynamics. The network is structured into two interacting subsystems: a sensory processing layer (5,000 regular-spiking cortical neurons) and an endogenous Default Mode Network (DMN) pacemaker subsystem (5,000 intrinsically bursting neurons). The DMN layer is modulated by continuous tonic currents reflecting ascending brainstem neuromodulation, maintaining intrinsic, autonomous bioelectric rhythms independent of external sensory input. To represent top-down cognitive modulation, synaptic weights are hierarchically structured such that DMN-to-network projections exceed sensory-level connections. Through numerical simulations using a modified two-step Euler integration scheme, we demonstrate how endogenous pacemaker activity interacts with transient external sensory perturbations, providing an elementary mathematical framework for the emergence of a persistent, self-sustaining neural representation of "Self".