Two state transitions mediated by spontaneous and/or intensive stimulus on an integrate-and-fire neural network model

Recent studies reported that there are two states in the internal potential of a neuron: one of which is called "UP state" occurring around the threshold, another is called "DOWN state" around the resting potential. These states transit each other by spontaneous and/or intensive stimulus. In this article, we performed the computer simulations using a neural network model to exemplify the UP/DOWN states. We assume that the synaptic weights between cells are clustered such as an associative memory model. Computer simulations show three results: 1) the "UP/DOWN states" are switched by spontaneous and/or intensive stimulus, 2) the "UP/DOWN states" are also synchronized within the clustered cells, and 3) the transitions are invoked more easily when the network state is out of the attractor than it is in an attractor.