Neural wave interference in inhibition-stabilized networks

We study how excitation propagates in chains of inhibition-stabilized neural networks with nearest-neighbor coupling. The excitation generated by local stimuli in such networks propagates across space and time, forming spatiotemporal waves that affect the dynamics of excitation generated by stimuli separated spatially and temporally. These interactions form characteristic interference patterns, manifested as network preferences: for spatial and temporal frequencies of stimulus intensity, for stimulus velocities, and as contextual ("lateral") interactions between stimuli. Such preferences have been previously attributed to distinct specialized mechanisms.