Stochastic excitation of coherent dynamical states of two coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons

Abstract

Coherent dynamics of two synaptically coupled stochastic FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons under external subthreshold dc-current stimulus has been studied. The noise-induced excitations of collective states of coupled neurons and phase coherence have been numerically explored for several coupling types as the synaptic conductance and noise intensity are varied. We find that in the cases of weak excitatory and weak inhibitory coupling types, there is an optimal synaptic conductance and optimal noise intensity for maximal phase coherence, while in the case of a strong excitatory coupling type, there is an optimal synaptic conductance.