Noise induced complexity: patterns and collective phenomena in a small-world neuronal network

Cogn Neurodyn. 2014 Apr;8(2):143-9. doi: 10.1007/s11571-013-9257-x. Epub 2013 May 28.

Abstract

The effects of noise on patterns and collective phenomena are studied in a small-world neuronal network with the dynamics of each neuron being described by a two-dimensional Rulkov map neuron. It is shown that for intermediate noise levels, noise-induced ordered patterns emerge spatially, which supports the spatiotemporal coherence resonance. However, the inherent long range couplings of small-world networks can effectively disrupt the internal spatial scale of the media at small fraction of long-range couplings. The temporal order, characterized by the autocorrelation of a firing rate function, can be greatly enhanced by the introduction of small-world connectivity. There exists an optimal fraction of randomly rewired links, where the temporal order and synchronization can be optimized.

Keywords: Coherence resonance; Pattern; Small-world neural network; Synchronization.