Integrating Neuroscientific Priors into Spiking Neural Networks: ECSNN-SEG for Robust Brain ECS Segmentation from Low-SNR Cryo-Electron Microscopy Data

Integrating Neuroscientific Priors into Spiking Neural Networks: ECSNN-SEG for Robust Brain ECS Segmentation from Low-SNR Cryo-Electron Microscopy Data | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Integrating Neuroscientific Priors into Spiking Neural Networks: ECSNN-SEG for Robust Brain ECS Segmentation from Low-SNR Cryo-Electron Microscopy Data Chao Zhang, Mingdong Wang, Shufan Yang, Desheng Zhao, Ce Gao, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8753676/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Sensing and Imaging → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Medical image segmentation is crucial for computer-aided diagnosis, but segmenting complex structures like brain extracellular space (ECS) remains challenging due to low contrast, noise, and intricate morphology. Motivated by ECS’s role in neurophysiology, this study proposes ECSNN-SEG, a two-stage spiking neural network based on the biologically plausible ECS-LIF neuron model. It integrates a U-Net variant for coarse segmentation and an ECS-LIF-based refinement network to enhance accuracy and noise robustness. Evaluations on the cryo-EM ECSSeg dataset show ECSNN-SEG outperforms state-of-the-art methods in accuracy (ACC: 0.9834, F1: 0.8634) and robustness under Gaussian noise, highlighting the value of integrating neuroscientific priors into medical image analysis. Extracellular space (ECS) Spiking neural network (SNN) ECS-LIF neuron Medical image segmentation Cryo-electron microscopy ECSNN-SEG Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 09 Mar, 2026 Read the published version in Sensing and Imaging → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 12 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 11 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 11 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 09 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 03 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 03 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 02 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 31 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8753676","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":585429931,"identity":"2d2f5034-3017-4160-8374-6ae3c649a2e1","order_by":0,"name":"Chao Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Chao","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":585429932,"identity":"fe9933d5-1e7a-42fc-a406-31b02947d152","order_by":1,"name":"Mingdong Wang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"School of Artificial Intelligence and 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