PHASE DYNAMICS FOR WEAKLY COUPLED HODGKIN-HUXLEY NEURONS

Hodgkin-Huxley model neurons coupled by weak excitatory interactions a re studied by a phase reduction technique. All the information about t he coupling between the neurons and their synchronization is then cont ained in an effective interaction between their phases. One shows anal ytically that an excitatory coupling can result in an effective inhibi tion between the neurons reducing their firing rates. Systems of two n eurons exhibit bistability and out-of-phase locking. It is suggested t hat these features may have significant consequences for networks.