Abstract: Neuroplasticity, also known as brain plasticity or neuronal plasticity, allows the brain to improve its connections or rewire itself. The synaptic modifications can help the brain to enhance fitness, to promote existing cognitive capabilities, and to recover from some brain injuries. Furthermore, brain plasticity has impacts on neuronal synchronisation. In this work, we build a neuronal network composed of coupled Rulkov neurons with excitatory connections randomly distributed. We consider burst-timing-dependent plasticity to investigate the effects of external perturbations, such as periodic and random pulses, on the neuronal synchronous behaviour. The plasticity changes the synaptic weights between the presynaptic and postsynaptic neurons, and as a consequence the burst synchronisation. We verify that the external periodic and random pulsed perturbations can induce synchronisation and desynchronisation states. One of our main results is to demonstrate that bursting synchronisation and desynchronisation in a network with burst-timing-dependent plasticity can emerge according to alterations of the initial synaptic weights. Furthermore, we show that external periodic and random pulsed currents can be an effective method to suppress neuronal activities related to pathological synchronous behaviour.

State of Paraná

Where the group was born

         Paraná is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the south of the country, bordered on the north by São Paulo state, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by Santa Catarina state and the province of Misiones, Argentina, and on the west by Mato Grosso do Sul and Paraguay, with the Paraná River as its western boundary line.

    It is subdivided into 399 municipalities. Its capital is the city of Curitiba. Other major cities are Londrina, Maringá, Ponta Grossa, Cascavel, São José dos Pinhais and Foz do Iguaçu. Crossed by the Tropic of Capricorn, Paraná has what is left of the Araucaria forest, one of the most important subtropical forests in the world. At the border with Argentina is the National Park of Iguaçu, considered by UNESCO as a World Heritage site. At only 40 km (25 mi) from there, at the border with Paraguay, the largest dam in the world was built, the Hidroelétrica de Itaipu (Itaipu Hydroelectric Dam). The crime rate is considered low by Brazilian standards and the state is one of the most developed in the nation.