Synchronized Rhythmic Oscillation in a Noisy Neural Network

Abstract

The occurrence of synchronized oscillation and its critical behavior in a globally coupled stochastic Hodgkin–Huxley (HH) neuronal network are studied in this paper. It is found that there is a critical curve for the coupling strength versus noise intensity, which shows a V-shaped structure and divides the network behavior into an asynchronous firing state and a synchronous one. Analysis of the scaling behavior near the bifurcation point reveals that this transition is analogous to a second-order phase transition. The frequency of synchronized oscillations is within the range of 40–80 Hz, and its physical origin is explored by studying single HH neuron’s impedance. The intrinsic property of single neuron may account for the generation and the frequency characteristics of synchronized rhythmic oscillations.