Parameter-sweeping techniques for temporal dynamics of neuronal systems: case study of Hindmarsh-Rose model

We have developed a complementary suite of computational tools for two-parameter screening of dynamics in neuronal models. We test a ‘brute-force’ effectiveness of neuroscience plausible techniques specifically tailored for the examination of temporal characteristics, such duty cycle of bursting, interspike interval, spike number deviation in the phenomenological Hindmarsh-Rose model of a bursting neuron and compare the results obtained by calculus-based tools for evaluations of an entire spectrum of Lyapunov exponents broadly employed in studies of nonlinear systems.We have found that the results obtained either way agree exceptionally well, and can identify and differentiate between various fine structures of complex dynamics and underlying global bifurcations in this exemplary model. Our future planes are to enhance the applicability of this computational suite for understanding of polyrhythmic bursting patterns and their functional transformations in small networks.Individual and networked neurons can generate various complex oscillations known as bursting, formed by alternating fast repetitive spiking and quiescent or subthreshold oscillatory phases. Bursting is a manifestation of composite, multiple time scale dynamics observed in various fields of science as diverse as food chain ecosystems, nonlinear optics, medical studies of the human immune system, and neuroscience. The role of bursting is especially important for rhythmic movements determined by Central Pattern Generators (CPG). Many CPGs can be multifunctional and produce polyrhythmic bursting patterns on distinct time scales, like fast swimming and slow crawling in leeches [1]. Such CPGs are able to switch between different rhythms when perturbed [2,3].In mathematical neuroscience a deterministic description of endogenously oscillatory activities, like two-time scale bursting, is done by revealing generic properties of mathematical and realistic models of neurons; the latter are derived through the Hod