Organization network enhanced detection and transmission of phase-locking

Based on the recent observation that a neuron in the local network of the mouse primary visual cortex receives convergent input from nearby neurons (Nature, 471 (2011) 177), we present a hierarchical organization network model to stress the aspect of directional coupling in neurons and study how an external signal can be transmitted in this network model. By taking numerical simulations on the paradigmatic Rössler oscillator and Hindmarsh-Rose neuron, we show that the oscillators in the network will lock in phase and frequency over a range that is much larger than one driven oscillator would, indicating the enhanced signal detectability of the hierarchical organization network. To guarantee the successful transmission of phase-lockings, a self-tuning mechanism is introduced where the weights of those links along the signal transmission path will be adaptively increased, with the total weight of network keeping constant. Moreover, we find that the organization network is in favor of the phase-locking transmission than the star-like network.