Local Correlated Noise Improvement of Signal-to-Noise Ratio Gain in an Ensemble of Noisy Neuron

We theoretically investigate the collective response of an ensemble of leaky integrate-and-fire neuron units to a noisy periodic signal by including local spatially correlated noise. By using the linear response theory, we obtained the analytic expression of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Numerical simulation results show that the rms amplitude of internal noise can be increased up to an optimal value where the output SNR reaches a maximum value. Due to the existence of the local spatially correlated noise in the units of the ensemble, the SNR gain of the collective ensemble response can exceed unity and can be optimized when the nearest-neighborhood correlation is negative. This nonlinear collective phenomenon of SNR gain amplification in an ensemble of leaky integrate-and-fire neuron units can be related to the array stochastic resonance (SR) phenomenon. Furthermore, we also show that the SNR gain can also be optimized by tuning the number of neuron units, frequency and amplitude of the weak periodic signal. The present study illustrates the potential to utilize the local spatially correlation noise and the number of ensemble units for optimizing the collective response of the neuron to inputs, as well as a guidance in the design of information processing devices to weak signal detection.