title: Random perturbations of spiking activity in a pair of coupled neurons.
abstract: We examine the effects of stochastic input currents on the firing behaviour of two coupled Type 1 or Type 2 neurons. In Hodgkin-Huxley model neurons with standard parameters, which are Type 2, in the bistable regime, synaptic transmission can initiate oscillatory joint spiking, but white noise can terminate it. In Type 1 cells (models), typified by a quadratic integrate and fire model, synaptic coupling can cause oscillatory behaviour in excitatory cells, but Gaussian white noise can again terminate it. We locally determine an approximate basin of attraction, [see text] of the periodic orbit and explain the firing behaviour in terms of the effects of noise on the probability of escape of trajectories from [see text].
authors.affiliation: Group for Neural Theory, Departement des Etudes Cognitives, Ecole Normale Supérieure, 3 rue d'Ulm, 75005, Paris, France.
authors.forename: Boris
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gutkin
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jost
authors.forename: Henry C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Tuckwell
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D008959:Models, Neurological; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D013269:Stochastic Processes; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology