Eur. Phys. J. B (2012) 85: 14
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2011-20895-0

Regular Article

Multiple coherence resonances by time-periodic coupling strength in scale-free networks of bursting neurons

School of Physics, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, P.R. China

^a e-mail: gongyubing09@hotmail.com

Received: 3 November 2011
Received in final form: 20 November 2011
Published online: 11 January 2012

Abstract

In this paper, we study the effect of time-periodic coupling strength (TPCS) and network connection degree ⟨k⟩ on the temporal coherence of the chaotic bursting of the scale-free networks of thermo-sensitive neurons. It is found that the chaotic bursting becomes ordered and can exhibit coherence resonance (CR) when TPCS amplitude ε₀ or the network connection degree ⟨k⟩ is varied. In particular, the neuronal bursting may exhibit multiple CR (MCR) behavior when TPCS frequency ω is varied. It is also found that, as ⟨k⟩ is increased, the value of ε₀ for the MCR decreases, but the frequency for the MCR almost keeps unchanged. These results show that the chaotic bursting can be tamed and the bursting temporal coherence can be enhanced and even optimized by TPCS and network connection degree. Furthermore, TPCS can repetitively enhance and even optimize the temporal coherence of the neuronal bursting behavior. These findings may help to better understand the roles of TPCS and network connection degree for improving the time precision of the information processing in neuronal networks.