Quantifying wave propagation in a chain of FitzHugh–Nagumo neurons
Understanding how external stimuli propagate in neural systems is an important challenge in the fields of neuroscience and nonlinear dynamics. Despite extensive studies over several decades, this problem remains poorly understood. In this work, we examine a simple "toy model" of an excitable medium, a linear chain of diffusely coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo neurons, and analyze the transmission of a sinusoidal signal injected into one of the neurons at the ends of the chain. We measure to what extent the propagation of the wave reaching the opposite end is affected by the frequency and amplitude of the signal, the number of neurons in the chain, and the strength of their mutual diffusive coupling. To quantify these effects, we measure the cross correlation between the time series of the membrane potentials of the end neurons. This measure allows us to detect the values of the parameters that delimit different propagation regimes.
Authors
- L. Messee Goulefack (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6197-5367)
- Cristina Masoller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0768-2019)
- Celia Anteneodo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9130-2933)
- R. Yamapi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8156-4534)
Institutions
- University of Douala (CM)
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (BR)
- Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (ES)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Chaos An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science
- Published
- 2025-03-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0239976
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Neural dynamics and brain function
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.86
Funders
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico
- Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro
- Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World
- Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca
- European Office of Aerospace Research and Development