Route to hyperchaos and chimera states in a network of modified Hindmarsh-Rose neuron model with electromagnetic flux and external excitation

Analyzing the chaos and bursting phenomenon of neurons has been of interest in the past decade. In this paper, we discuss an extended Hindmarsh-Rose neuron model by taking into consideration the slowly interacting cell phenomenon due to the calcium ions. In the extended model, we consider the effect of an external forcing current, and the electromagnetic coupling between the magnetic flux and the membrane potential of the neuron. We analyze the modified neuron model in the presence of periodic and quasi-periodic excitations. A more complex chaotic behavior (hyperchaos) is identified in the neuron model. The results also demonstrate the multistable nature, which was not explored earlier. To discuss the dynamical behavior of the modified neuron in a network, we construct a ring network of neurons and capture the spatiotemporal patterns of the neuron in the network, in the presence of different excitations.

     

耦合Hindmarsh-Rose神经元的放电模式和完全同步

通过数值模拟和分岔分析的方法研究了Hindmarsh-Rose（HR）神经元的放电模式。当外加直流激励变化时，单个的神经元表现为静息态、周期性峰放电、周期性簇放电以及混沌的放电模式。利用快慢动力学分析的方法研究了HR神经元的动力学行为。当每个神经元表现为静息态、周期性放电和混沌时，两个耦合的神经元在一定的耦合强度下均会达到完全同步。神经元的耦合方式模拟神经元之间缝隙连接的电耦合。理论分析了完全同步的判断准则，并给出相应的数值模拟结果。电耦合HR神经元耦合系统的峰峰间期的分岔结构在耦合的作用下仍然能保持未耦合时的分岔结构。     

Synchronized Firing in Coupled Inhomogeneous Excitable Neurons

We study the firing synchronization behavior of the inhomogeneous excitable media. Phase synchronization of neuron firings is observed with increasing the coupling, while the phases of neurons are different (out-of-phase synchronization). We found the synchronization of bursts can be greatly enhanced by applying an external forcing (in-phase synchronization). The external forcing can be either a periodic or just homogeneous thermal noise. The mechanism responsible for this enhancement is discussed.     

动态突触、神经耦合与时间延迟对神经元发放的影响

神经元膜电位的受激发放在神经系统的信息传递中起着重要作用.基于一个受动态突触刺激的突触后神经元发放模型,采用数值模拟和傅里叶变换分析的方法研究了动态突触、神经耦合与时间延迟对突触后神经元发放的影响.结果发现:突触前神经元发放频率与Hodgkin-Huxley神经元的固有频率发生共振决定了突触后神经元发放的难易,特定频率范围内的电流刺激有利于神经元激发,动态突触输出的随机突触电流中这些电流刺激所占的比率在很大程度上影响了突触后神经元的发放次数;将突触后神经元换成神经网络后,网络中神经元之间的耦合可以促进神经元的发放,耦合中的时间延迟可以增强这种促进作用,但是不会改变神经耦合对神经元发放的促进模式.     

Synchronized Firing in Coupled Inhomogeneous Excitable Neurons

We study the firing synchronization behavior of the inhomogeneous excitable media. Phase synchronizationof neuron firings is observed with increasing the coupling, while the phases of neurons are different (out-of-phase synchronization). We found the synchronization of bursts can be greatly enhanced by applying an external forcing (in-phasesynchronization). The external forcing can be either a periodic or just homogeneous thermal noise. The mechanismresponsible for this enhancement is discussed.PACS numbers: 05.45.-a, 87.10. e     

电磁辐射诱发神经元放电节律转迁的动力学行为研究

本文首先根据能量转换理论建立了电磁辐射影响下神经元电流变量模型, 然后结合Hodgkin-Huxley(HH)神经元模型研究了电磁辐射对单个神经元以及耦合神经元放电行为的影响. 结果表明, 随着电磁辐射强度的增大, 神经元放电率逐渐减小, 最后达到一个比较稳定的值. 神经元原有的周期型放电由于辐射强度的增大而逐步过渡到簇放电状态, 并借助动态分岔理论解释了这种放电模式的转换. 同时证明了磁辐射对单个神经元放电的影响可以通过神经元间的耦合传递到临近其他神经元中.     

Firing activities in a fractional-order Hindmarsh-Rose neuron with multistable memristor as autapse

Considering the fact that memristors have the characteristics similar to biological synapses, a fractional-order multistable memristor is proposed in this paper. It is verified that the fractional-order memristor has multiple local active regions and multiple stable hysteresis loops, and the influence of fractional-order on its nonvolatility is also revealed. Then by considering the fractional-order memristor as an autapse of Hindmarsh-Rose (HR) neuron model, a fractional-order memristive neuron model is developed. The effects of the initial value, external excitation current, coupling strength and fractional-order on the firing behavior are discussed by time series, phase diagram, Lyapunov exponent and inter spike interval (ISI) bifurcation diagram. Three coexisting firing patterns, including irregular asymptotically periodic (A-periodic) bursting, A-periodic bursting and chaotic bursting, dependent on the memristor initial values, are observed. It is also revealed that the fractional-order can not only induce the transition of firing patterns, but also change the firing frequency of the neuron. Finally, a neuron circuit with variable fractional-order is designed to verify the numerical simulations.     

In- and Anti-transition of Firing Patterns Induced by Random Long-range Connections in Coupled Hindmarsh-Rose Neurons System

研究了在外界刺激电流的作用下,随机的长程关联对耦合的Hindmarsh-Rose神经元放电模式转变的影响．结果表明,当耦合强度较弱时,在神经元网络中加入一定数量的随机的长程关联,神经元的放电模式会从较少的周期态转变到较多的周期态;当耦合强度较强时,在神经元网络中加入一定数量的随机长程关联,神经元的放电模式会产生相反的转变,即从较多的周期态转变到较少的周期态．同时还简单讨论了神经系统的尺度大小和神经元之间的耦合强度,以及不同外界刺激条件下放电模式的强度与临界特性之间的关系．     

Anticipating the response of excitable systems driven by random forcing

We study the regime of anticipated synchronization in unidirectionally coupled model neurons subject to a common external aperiodic forcing that makes their behavior unpredictable. We show numerically and by analog hardware electronic circuits that, under appropriate coupling conditions, the pulses fired by the slave neuron anticipate (i.e., predict) the pulses fired by the master neuron. This anticipated synchronization occurs even when the common external forcing is white noise.     

Synchronization of map-based neurons with memory and synaptic delay

Synchronization of two synaptically coupled neurons with memory and synaptic delay is studied using the Rulkov map, one of the simplest neuron models which displays specific features inherent to bursting dynamics. We demonstrate a transition from lag to anticipated synchronization as the relationship between the memory duration and the synaptic delay time changes. The neuron maps synchronize either with anticipation, if the memory is longer than the synaptic delay time, or with lag otherwise. The mean anticipation time is equal to the difference between the memory and synaptic delay independently of the coupling strength. Frequency entrainment and phase-locking phenomena as well as a transition from regular spikes to chaos are demonstrated with respect to the coupling strength.     

Synchronization transition in gap-junction-coupled leech neurons

Real neurons can exhibit various types of firings including tonic spiking, bursting as well as silent state, which are frequently observed in neuronal electrophysiological experiments. More interestingly, it is found that neurons can demonstrate the co-existing mode of stable tonic spiking and bursting, which depends on initial conditions. In this paper, synchronization in gap-junction-coupled neurons with co-existing attractors of spiking and bursting firings is investigated as the coupling strength gets increased. Synchronization transitions can be identified by means of the bifurcation diagram and the correlation coefficient. It is illustrated that the coupled neurons can exhibit different types of synchronization transitions between spiking and bursting when the coupling strength increases. In the course of synchronization transitions, an intermittent synchronization can be observed. These results may be instructive to understand synchronization transitions in neuronal systems.     

Chaotic phase synchronization in small-world networks of bursting neurons

We investigate the chaotic phase synchronization in a system of coupled bursting neurons in small-world networks. A transition to mutual phase synchronization takes place on the bursting time scale of coupled oscillators, while on the spiking time scale, they behave asynchronously. It is shown that phase synchronization is largely facilitated by a large fraction of shortcuts, but saturates when it exceeds a critical value. We also study the external chaotic phase synchronization of bursting oscillators in the small-world network by a periodic driving signal applied to a single neuron. It is demonstrated that there exists an optimal small-world topology, resulting in the largest peak value of frequency locking interval in the parameter plane, where bursting synchronization is maintained, even with the external driving. The width of this interval increases with the driving amplitude, but decrease rapidly with the network size. We infer that the externally applied driving parameters outside the frequency locking region can effectively suppress pathologically synchronized rhythms of bursting neurons in the brain.     

Dynamical response of a neuron–astrocyte coupling system under electromagnetic induction and external stimulation

Previous studies have observed that electromagnetic induction can seriously affect the electrophysiological activity of the nervous system. Considering the role of astrocytes in regulating neural firing, we studied a simple neuron–astrocyte coupled system under electromagnetic induction in response to different types of external stimulation. Both the duration and intensity of the external stimulus can induce different modes of electrical activity in this system, and thus the neuronal firing patterns can be subtly controlled. When the external stimulation ceases, the neuron will continue to fire for a long time and then reset to its resting state. In this study, "delay" is defined as the delayed time from the firing state to the resting state, and it is highly sensitive to changes in the duration or intensity of the external stimulus. Meanwhile, the self-similarity embodied in the aforementioned sensitivity can be quantified by fractal dimension. Moreover, a hysteresis loop of calcium activity in the astrocyte is observed in the specific interval of the external stimulus when the stimulus duration is extended to infinity, since astrocytic calcium or neuron electrical activity in the resting state or during periodic oscillation depends on the initial state. Finally, the regulating effect of electromagnetic induction in this system is considered. It is clarified that the occurrence of "delay" depends purely on the existence of electromagnetic induction. This model can reveal the dynamic characteristics of the neuron–astrocyte coupling system with magnetic induction under external stimulation. These results can provide some insights into the effects of electromagnetic induction and stimulation on neuronal activity.     

Bursting synchronization in non-locally coupled maps

Neuron activity presents two timescales, a fast one related to action-potential spiking, and a slow timescale in which bursting takes place. Bursting activity in neuron ensembles can be synchronized, meaning the adjustment of the bursting phases due to coupling. We investigated bursting synchronization in a non-locally coupled lattice using a two-dimensional map to describe neuron activity. The coupling involves all sites in a lattice, the corresponding strength decreasing with the lattice distance in a power-law fashion. We observed bursting synchronization for wide intervals of the coupling parameters. We also investigated the bursting synchronization of the ensemble with an external time-periodic signal applied to one or more selected neurons.     

Hindmarsh-Rose神经元的随机自共振和噪声影响下的同步

研究了噪声对Hindmarsh-Rose(HR)神经元随机自共振和同步的影响。将高斯白噪声加入HR神经元模型的膜电位上，把外界直流电作为分岔参数，分别考虑参数处于Hopf分岔前、Hopf分岔附近和Hopf分岔后时，噪声影响下的随机自共振现象。两个未经耦合的全同HR神经元，如果接受相同的噪声激励，只要噪声强度高于某临界值，就能达到完全同步。进一步，噪声能够增强弱耦合神经元的完全同步。数值结果表明簇放电的神经元比峰放电的神经元更容易被噪声诱导而达到完全同步，耦合也增强了神经元对噪声激励的灵敏度。     

Coherence resonance and synchronization of Hindmarsh-Rose neurons with noise

Noise effects on coherence resonance and synchronization of Hindmarsh-Rose (HR) neuron model are studied. The coherence resonance of a single HR neuron with Gaussian white noise added to the membrane potential is investigated in situations before, near and after the Hopf bifurcation, separately, with the external direct current as a bifurcation parameter. It is shown that even though there is no coupling between neurons, uncoupled identical HR neurons driven by a common noise can achieve complete synchronization when the noise intensity is higher than a critical value. Furthermore, noise also enhances complete synchronization of weakly coupled neurons. It is concluded that synchronization in bursting neurons is easier to be induced than in spiking ones, and coupling enhances the sensitivity of synchronization of neurons to noise stimulus.     

Parameter-dependent synchronization transition of coupled neurons with co-existing spiking and bursting

A firing pattern transition is simulated in the Leech neuron model, firstly from bursting to co-existence of spiking and bursting and then to spiking. The attraction domain of spiking and bursting for three different parameter values are calculated. Synchronization transition processes of two coupled Leech neurons, one is bursting and the other the co-existing spiking, are simulated for the three parameters. The three synchronization processes appear similar as the coupling strength increases, beginning from non-synchronization to complete synchronization through a complex dynamical procedure, but their detailed processes are different depending on the parameter values. The transition procedure is complex and the complete synchronization is in bursting for larger parameter values, while the process is simple with complete synchronization of spiking for smaller values. The potential relationship between complete synchronization and the attraction domain is also discussed. The results are instructive to understanding the synchronization behaviors of the coupled neuronal system with co-existing attractors.     

Synchronization of bursting neurons: what matters in the network topology

We study the influence of coupling strength and network topology on synchronization behavior in pulse-coupled networks of bursting Hindmarsh-Rose neurons. Surprisingly, we find that the stability of the completely synchronous state in such networks only depends on the number of signals each neuron receives, independent of all other details of the network topology. This is in contrast with linearly coupled bursting neurons where complete synchrony strongly depends on the network structure and number of cells. Through analysis and numerics, we show that the onset of synchrony in a network with any coupling topology admitting complete synchronization is ensured by one single condition.     

场耦合忆阻神经网络的电活动

神经元之间除了突触耦合，还存在磁通耦合.因此在传统的神经元模型中引入磁通量，并研究场耦合下神经网络的放电活动具有实际意义.建立一个含场耦合的Hodgkin-Huxley忆阻神经网络，引入神经元节点之间的距离权重，用磁通量描述时变电磁场，采用磁控忆阻器实现膜电位和磁通量之间的耦合.探讨距离权重和系统大小对神经网络放电活动的影响.研究发现，随着权重增大，神经网络放电活动增强，且系统规模越大，诱导神经元兴奋性的权重阈值越大，系统大小不影响神经网络活性随距离权重变化的规律.在不同的权重值下，神经网络活性随系统大小变化的规律明显不同.研究表明，距离权重和系统大小对含场耦合的忆阻神经网络放电活动有重要影响，其中距离权重起主导作用.     

Chaotic phase synchronization in a modular neuronal network of small-world subnetworks

We investigate the onset of chaotic phase synchronization of bursting oscillators in a modular neuronal network of small-world subnetworks. A transition to mutual phase synchronization takes place on the bursting time scale of coupled oscillators, while on the spiking time scale, they behave asynchronously. It is shown that this bursting synchronization transition can be induced not only by the variations of inter- and intra-coupling strengths but also by changing the probability of random links between different subnetworks. We also analyze the effect of external chaotic phase synchronization of bursting behavior in this clustered network by an external time-periodic signal applied to a single neuron. Simulation results demonstrate a frequency locking tongue in the driving parameter plane, where bursting synchronization is maintained, even with the external driving. The width of this synchronization region increases with the signal amplitude and the number of driven neurons but decreases rapidly with the network size. Considering that the synchronization of bursting neurons is thought to play a key role in some pathological conditions, the presented results could have important implications for the role of externally applied driving signal in controlling bursting activity in neuronal ensembles.