System size coherence resonance in coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo models

Abstract

We show the existence of a system size coherence resonance effect for coupled excitable systems. Namely, we demonstrate numerically that the regularity in the signal emitted by an ensemble of globally coupled FitzHugh-Nagumo systems, under excitation by independent noise sources, is optimal for a particular value of the number of coupled systems. This resonance is shown through several different dynamical measures: the time correlation function, correlation time and jitter.