Constructing Memristive Hindmarsh–Rose Neuron with Countless Coexisting Firings

Abstract

Memristor synapses have been widely introduced into neuronal models to investigate the effects of external magnetic fields. However, there is a relative lack of research on the external-induced electric fields in neurons. In this paper, a 4D-memristive Hindmarsh–Rose neuron model is constructed by introducing a memristor and an electric field variable, which can generate complex neural firing. Notably, numerical simulations reveal that the initial conditions of the memristor can induce different firing patterns, exhibiting a unique fractal structure in the basin of attractions. Remarkably, the offset parameters of the internal variables of the neuron can be canceled out so that the offset boosting of the variables can be achieved according to the initial values, giving rise to an uncountably many hidden attractors with homogeneous multistability. This model provides the first example of generating uncountably many attractors in a memristive neuron model without relying on trigonometric functions, significantly advancing our understanding of neuronal dynamics. Finally, a digital circuit is designed and implemented on the RISC-V platform to verify the numerical simulation and theoretical analysis. The findings of this study have a certain implication for the development of advanced neuromorphic computing systems and the understanding of complex neuronal behaviors in the presence of external electric fields.