Abstract
In this study, the response of the pacemaker neuron model to transient pulse inputs (input sequence composed of a finite number of pulses with interval variations) is examined. The shift of the firing phase of the pacemaker neuron generated by a single pulse stimulus is represented by the phase transition curve. The dynamics of the pacemaker neuron receiving pacemaker pulse stimuli has been analyzed in terms of the oneβdimensional discrete dynamical system derived from the phase transition curve. This paper shows that the dynamics of the model for the transient pulse input can be described by a finite set of phase transition curves. The constructed pacemaker neuron model can reproduce the response of the slowly adapting stretch receptor organ (SAO) of the crayfish to the transient pulse inputs observed in the experiment. It is observed in the experiment that the qualitative property of the response pattern of the SAO to the transient pulse inputs changes suddenly while the input is applied. In order to analyze the generation mechanism underlying the response to the transient pulse inputs, the response of the model is analyzed in detail for inputs with increasing rate, that is, pulse input trains in which the inverse of the input pulse interval monotonically increases. In particular, the mechanism of generation of the paradoxical response, in which the output rate increases monotonously in response to the inhibitory input with increasing rate, is described. Β© 2002 Scripta Technica, Syst Comp Jpn, 33(3): 63β73, 2002