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Summer Program Seminars 2006

Thursday, June 22, 2006 @ 10:00AM
Cullimore Hall, Room 611
New Jersey Institute of Technology

The Dynamics of an Electrically Coupled Theta Neuron Model

Joon Ha

Department of Mathematical Sciences

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Newark, New Jersey

ABSTRACT

The theta neuron model is a canonical form of Type 1 membrane oscillator [Ermentrout and Kopell (1986)] that yields a very low frequency oscillation via a saddle node bifurcation.  We study the dynamics of two such neurons coupled by gap junctions (electrical coupling).  The network exhibits several types of solutions including stable suppressed, 1:multiple, and 1:1 spiking solutions, depending on intrinsic properties of the single neuron model and on the coupling strength.  Due to the low frequency property and biological realism of the theta neuron model, there is a stable `river' which attracts all trajectories on a certain region.