title: Generation of theta oscillations by weakly coupled neural oscillators in the presence of noise.
abstract: Neuronal oscillations are a robust phenomenon occurring in a variety of brain regions despite considerable amounts of noise. In this article classical phase-response theory is generalized to the case of noisy weak-coupling regimes by deriving an iterated map for the asynchrony of spikes in an oscillation cycle. Two criteria are introduced to check the validity of our approximations: One criterion tests the assumption that all neurons fire exactly once per cycle, the other criterion tests for linearity. The framework is applied to stellate cells of the medial entorhinal cortex layer II. We find that rhythmogenesis is more robust in the case of excitatory noise as compared to inhibitory noise. It is shown that a network of stellate cells can also act as a generator of theta if the neurons are connected via a fast-oscillating network of inhibitory interneurons.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universtität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 43. 10115 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael H K
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Bendels
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leibold
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000502:physiology*; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009433:Neural Inhibition; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D009622:Noise; D013826:Theta Rhythm