Click on the image to see a PDF version (for zooming in)

Fig. 12.7. Overcoming noise with strong excitation. A network of 30 neurons with global excitatory lateral connections was simulated for 500 iterations. A higher level of noise (1%, i.e. 10 times the noise in Section 12.3.2) was added to the membrane potential at each iteration. When the excitatory contribution is weak, as in (a) and (b), noise overwhelms it and causes the activities to desynchronize. However, as the excitatory contribution becomes stronger as in (c) and (d), it overcomes noise and achieves synchrony.