Spatio-temporal patterns in a square-lattice Hodgkin-Huxley neural network

The collective behaviour of a square-lattice Hodgkin-Huxley neural network model with white noise is investigated by numerical methods. It is found that for an intermediate value of noise the Hodgkin-Huxley neurons in the square lattice exhibit an ordered circular structure. However, as the noise level increases, the ordered circular structures are distorted, and eventually totally destroyed. Thereby, the constructive role of appropriately pronounced random perturbations in the studied network is revealed. Furthermore, it is shown that as the diffusive coefficient increases, the typical width of the spatial waves also increases accordingly, which results in a decrease of the number of cycles by a given size of the spatial grid. More interestingly, it is observed that the spatio-temporal coherence resonance is enhanced as the diffusive coefficient is increased. Finally, the dependence of the typical width and the average period of the firing rate function on the diffusive coefficient is studied. Results presented in this paper should prove valuable for the understanding of information processing of neural systems in the presence of noise. © EDP Sciences/Società Italiana di Fisica/Springer-Verlag 2006.