Amplified Signal Response by Neuronal Diversity on Complex Networks

The effect of diversity on dynamics of coupled FitzHugh--Nagumo neurons on complex networks is numerically investigated, where each neuron is subjected to an external subthreshold signal. With the diversity the network is a mixture of excitable and oscillatory neurons, and the diversity is determined by the variance of the system's parameter. The complex network is constructed by randomly adding long-range connections (shortcuts) on a nearest-neighbouring coupled one-dimensional chain. Numerical results show that external signals are maximally magnified at an intermediate value of the diversity, as in the case of well-known stochastic resonance. Furthermore, the effects of the number of shortcuts and coupled strength on the diversity-induced phenomena are also discussed. These findings exhibit that the diversity may play a constructive role in response to external signal, and highlight the importance of the diversity on such complex networks.