Figure 4

Stochastic resonance in a simple neuronal system with an oscillating driving force and a noise term. The simulated neuron is modeled with Hodgkin-Huxley dynamics [112] and is stimulated by a sinusoidal current I at a frequency 200 Hz and amplitude 0.035 (a.u.) with added zero mean Gaussian noise with standard deviation SD. At low noise levels (SD less than 0.01), spike threshold is not attained. With increased noise (SD = 0.04) irregular spike bursts occur. At a narrow noise band, stochastic resonance occur with inter-spike interval (ISI) at about 5 ms and integral multiples of that period. We see that the neuron can miss four or more periods between spiking, but keep firing at integral multiples of the 5 ms stimulus period. In the simulations, one could also show that (low and moderate) noise alone will not be sufficient to drive the spiking in the absence of the periodic stimulus. In this simulation we observe that sub-threshold noise can increase the sensitivity of the neuron to periodic stimulation - that be sensory input or input from a neuronal rhythm generator. This illustrates stochastic resonance. a) Insufficient noise level (SD = 0.01) to trigger spikes. b) Low noise level (SD = 0.04) - infra SR. c) Stochastic resonance, SR (SD = 0.19). d) High noise level (SD = 0.30) - supra SR. e) Magnification of the SR condition in c). Blue trace = oscillating driving force; Black trace = input noise; Red trace = response (firing pattern) of the simulated neuron at the given noise level. The inserts in b) and d) show the corresponding inter-spike interval histograms.