Qualitative and quantitative aspects of synchronization in coupled CA1 pyramidal neurons

We investigated the synchronization phenomena of two electrically coupled CA1 pyramidal neurons on the basis of the coupling strength and capacitance. By means of the distribution of phase differences and ISI-distances, synchronization could be described from the qualitative and quantitative aspects, respectively. Firstly, based on the distribution of phase differences, asynchronous and multiple synchronous states such as in-phase and out-of-phase were observed. We found that both of coupling strength and capacitance could induce the transitions of synchronization states, and the distribution of synchronization states was illustrated in a two-dimensional parameter plane. Secondly, synchronization states were quantitatively indicated by ISI-distance. These results could exhibit the level of the same synchronization states arising in different parameter ranges, complementing the deficiency of phase differences.