Enhancement of weak signal detection in the Hodgkin–Huxley neuron subjected to electromagnetic fluctuation

Abstract

Nervous cells are inevitably more or less exposed in a noisy electromagnetic environment. Therefore, how to detect weak target signal in noisy electromagnetic environment is an interesting and urgent problem in neuroscience. However, effects of stochastic electromagnetic fluctuation in neuronal signal detection have never been studied in detail. Based on an improved Hodgkin–Huxley (HH) neuron model subjected to electromagnetic fluctuation modeled with sine-Wiener bounded noise, the responses of HH neuron to sub-threshold periodic input signal are investigated by calculating the Fourier coefficient Q for measuring efficacy of neuronal weak signal detection. Numerical simulations reveal magnetic flux noise-induced enhancement of weak signal detection. Furthermore, magnetic flux noise-induced multi-resonance may imply the enhancement of complex electromagnetic environmental adaptability of neurons. Additionally, the results obtained also imply that too strength electromagnetic radiation may impair the capacity of neuron in response to external stimuli. However, magnetic flux noise with appropriate strength can partly recover the impaired efficacy.