We show that the electrically coupled Hindmarsh-Rose neuronal model ex
hibits various patterns of phase locking at fixed parameter value. Thr
ough the analysis of the effective coupling, the system is shown to be
stabilized in one of these patterns according to the initial conditio
ns. This corresponds to the parameter-tuning independent mode-switchin
g mechanism that changes the electrical output of neuronal systems. It
is also presented how the stable fixed points of the effective coupli
ng which characterize the phase locking patterns depend on the externa
l current.