Transition of spatiotemporal patterns in neuron–astrocyte networks

Recent experiment suggested that astrocytes have a non-negligible effect on regulating neuronal networks and demonstrated how astrocytes influence neuronal firing behavior. In this work, a model for a 2-D neuron–astrocyte network is developed to explore the role of astrocytes in pattern transition of neural network. Dynamical analysis of neuron–astrocyte pair reveals that astrocytic feedback current causes left-shift of spiking interval of the neuron. Furthermore, the spatiotemporal patterns transition of the network are researched under different astrocyte feedback intensities and synaptic conductances. The result shows that the introduction of astrocyte network could not only enrich the diversity of spatiotemporal pattern by inducing pattern behaviors including migration, competition, and combination, but also enhance the firing among neurons under weak synappse connections. The strengthening of astrocyte feedback intensity could raise the firing frequency of neurons, cause changes in the spatial pattern, and delay the transition concerning synaptic conductance. A method to instructively identify critical changes of spatiotemporal patterns in time is proposed. The result shows that astrocyte feedback regulates the neuronal network’s firing and fundamentally influences the pattern transition and evolution.