BOLD Monitoring in the Neural Simulator ANNarchy
Oliver Maith 
Helge Ü. Dinkelbach
Fred Hamker
Computational neuroscience relies heavily on the interplay between experimental data and modeling, where data collection, model adaptation, prediction of new data, and experimental validation form a cyclic process. To include a broader range of experimental data, neural network models and neurosimulators that produce data at various temporal and spatial scales have gained significant importance. In this context, we have extended our neurosimulator, ANNarchy, with a BOLD monitor, enabling on-line computation of Blood-Oxygenation-Level Dependent (BOLD) signals from neural network models.
ANNarchy is a neurosimulator for spiking and rate-coded neural networks, offering an equation-based interface that provides users with intuitive flexibility. This has also been integrated into our BOLD monitor, which offers the option of using predefined BOLD monitors based on the Balloon Model or custom equations for BOLD computation. Moreover, the flexibility extends to the ability to define the neuronal variables on which BOLD signal computation is based.
The significance of our BOLD monitor goes beyond enabling modelers to generate BOLD signals from their neural networks; it also serves as a valuable tool to investigate the coupling between neural processes and the BOLD signal, as well as related processes like cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral metabolic rate of oxygen (CMRO2). This feature facilitates the study of the coupling between neuronal processes, CBF, and CMRO2. To illustrate this, we showcase the implementation of various coupling hypotheses between neuronal processes, CBF, and CMRO2, thereby highlighting their specific impacts on the simulated BOLD signals.
Back to topMaith, O., Dinkelbach, H., & Hamker, F. (2023). BOLD Monitoring in the Neural Simulator ANNarchy. Bernstein Conference 2023. doi: 10.12751/nncn.bc2023.201