Stochastic Resonance in a Neuronal Network from Mammalian Brain

Bruce J. Gluckman; Theoden I. Netoff; Emily J. Neel; William L. Ditto; Mark L. Spano; Steven J. Schiff

doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.77.4098

Stochastic Resonance in a Neuronal Network from Mammalian Brain

Bruce J. Gluckman, Theoden I. Netoff, Emily J. Neel, William L. Ditto, Mark L. Spano, and Steven J. Schiff

Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 4098 – Published 4 November 1996

Abstract

Stochastic resonance, a nonlinear phenomenon in which random noise optimizes a system's response to a signal, has been postulated to provide a role for noise in information processing in the brain. In these experiments, a time varying electric field was used to deliver both signal and noise directly to a network of neurons from mammalian brain. As the magnitude of the stochastic component of the field was increased, resonance was observed in the response of the neuronal network to a weak periodic signal. This is the first demonstration of stochastic resonance in neuronal networks from the brain.

Received 24 June 1996

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.77.4098

Authors & Affiliations

Bruce J. Gluckman^1,2, Theoden I. Netoff^2,3, Emily J. Neel², William L. Ditto⁴, Mark L. Spano¹, and Steven J. Schiff^2,3

¹Naval Surface Warfare Center, Silver Spring, Maryland 20903
²Department of Neurosurgery, Children's National Medical Center and The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C. 20010
³Program in Neuroscience, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. 20052
⁴School of Physics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332