Symmetric bursting behaviors in the generalized FitzHugh-Nagumo model

Fast-slow analysis for parametrically and externally excited systems with two slow rationally related excitation frequencies

We present a general method for analyzing mixed-mode oscillations (MMOs) in parametrically and externally excited systems with two low excitation frequencies (PEESTLEFs) for the case of arbitrary m:n relation between the slow frequencies of excitations. The validity of the approach has been demonstrated using the equations of Duffing and van der Pol, separately. Our study shows that, by introducing a slow variable and finding the relation between the slow variable and the slow excitations, PEESTLEFs can be transformed into a fast-slow form with a single slow variable and therefore MMOs observed in PEESTLEFs can be understood by the classical machinery of fast subsystem analysis of the transformed fast-slow system.

Bursting regimes in a reaction-diffusion system with action potential-dependent equilibrium

The equilibrium Nernst potential plays a critical role in neural cell dynamics. A common approximation used in studying electrical dynamics of excitable cells is that the ionic concentrations inside and outside the cell membranes act as charge reservoirs and remain effectively constant during excitation events. Research into brain electrical activity suggests that relaxing this assumption may provide a better understanding of normal and pathophysiological functioning of the brain. In this paper we explore time-dependent ionic concentrations by allowing the ion-specific Nernst potentials to vary with developing transmembrane potential. As a specific implementation, we incorporate the potential-dependent Nernst shift into a one-dimensional Morris-Lecar reaction-diffusion model. Our main findings result from a region in parameter space where self-sustaining oscillations occur without external forcing. Studying the system close to the bifurcation boundary, we explore the vulnerability of the system with respect to external stimulations which disrupt these oscillations and send the system to a stable equilibrium. We also present results for an extended, one-dimensional cable of excitable tissue tuned to this parameter regime and stimulated, giving rise to complex spatiotemporal pattern formation. Potential applications to the emergence of neuronal bursting in similar two-variable systems and to pathophysiological seizure-like activity are discussed.

Experimental study of complex mixed-mode oscillations generated in a Bonhoeffer-van der Pol oscillator under weak periodic perturbation

Bifurcations of complex mixed-mode oscillations denoted as mixed-mode oscillation-incrementing bifurcations (MMOIBs) have frequently been observed in chemical experiments. In a previous study [K. Shimizu et al., Physica D 241, 1518 (2012)], we discovered an extremely simple dynamical circuit that exhibits MMOIBs. Our model was represented by a slow/fast Bonhoeffer-van der Pol circuit under weak periodic perturbation near a subcritical Andronov-Hopf bifurcation point. In this study, we experimentally and numerically verify that our dynamical circuit captures the essence of the underlying mechanism causing MMOIBs, and we observe MMOIBs and chaos with distinctive waveforms in real circuit experiments.