Synchronization of coupled neural oscillators with heterogeneous delays

TL;DR

This paper explores how heterogeneous delays in coupling influence synchronization patterns in neural oscillators, revealing diverse oscillation types and bursting dynamics through combined numerical and analytical methods.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed analysis of delay heterogeneity effects on neural synchronization, supported by both numerical simulations and analytical insights.

Findings

Different synchronization regimes depending on delays and coupling strengths

Identification of bursting-like dynamics with competing timescales

Analytical support for numerical synchronization results

Abstract

We investigate the effects of heterogeneous delays in the coupling of two excitable neural systems. Depending upon the coupling strengths and the time delays in the mutual and self-coupling, the compound system exhibits different types of synchronized oscillations of variable period. We analyze this synchronization based on the interplay of the different time delays and support the numerical results by analytical findings. In addition, we elaborate on bursting-like dynamics with two competing timescales on the basis of the autocorrelation function.