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arXiv · 1510.03241

Hopf-type neurons increase input-sensitivity by forming forcing-coupled ensembles

Florian Gomez·Tom Lorimer·Ruedi Stoop
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Abstract

Astounding properties of biological sensors can often be mapped onto a dynamical system in the vicinity a bifurcation. For mammalian hearing, a Hopf bifurcation description has been shown to work across a whole range of scales, from individual hair bundles to whole regions of the cochlea. We reveal here the origin of this scale-invariance, from a general level, applicable to all neuronal dynamics in the vicinity of a Hopf bifurcation (embracing, e.g., Hodgkin-Huxley equations). When coupled by natural 'force-coupling', ensembles of Hopf oscillators below bifurcation threshold exhibit a collective Hopf bifurcation. This collective Hopf bifurcation occurs substantially below where the average of the individual oscillators would bifurcate, with a frequency profile that is sharpened if compared to the individual oscillators.

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Florian Gomez, Tom Lorimer, Ruedi Stoop. 2015-10-12. Hopf-type neurons increase input-sensitivity by forming forcing-coupled ensembles. https://arxiv.org/abs/1510.03241

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