Delay-induced mixed-mode oscillations in a 2D Hindmarsh-Rose-type model (Q894974)

The authors investigate a two-dimensional system of differential-difference equations that is obtained by incorporating delay into a Hindmarsh-Rose model [\textit{S. Tsuji} et al., Int. J. Bifurcation Chaos Appl. Sci. Eng. 17, No. 3, 985--998 (2007; Zbl 1142.37380)] to simulate recurrent synaptic feedback. Time delays naturally arise in neural modelling due to the fact that both the propagation speed of signals and the processing time of synapses are finite; however, their effect on the dynamics of single-neuron models has not been studied widely. The authors first analyse the local stability of equilibrium states in their model as a function of the delay. Following a centre manifold reduction, they derive conditions for the occurrence of a Hopf bifurcation, and its criticality, with delay as the bifurcation parameter. In particular, they observe canard-like mixed-mode oscillations (MMOs) [\textit{M. Desroches} et al., SIAM Rev. 54, No. 2, 211--288 (2012; Zbl 1250.34001)] that arise near parameter values at which either a fold bifurcation of cycles (Bautin bifurcation) or a homoclinic bifurcation occurs in the model without delay [\textit{S.-S. Chen} et al., Int. J. Bifurcation Chaos Appl. Sci. Eng. 23, No. 3, Article ID 1350055, 21 p. (2013; Zbl 1270.34121)]. The authors attempt an interpretation of the resulting delay-induced MMO dynamics in the context of (geometric) singular perturbation theory; finally, they assess the accuracy of their analysis by numerical simulation, and they explore relevant parameter regimes, and system responses, for varying feedback strength.