Strange nonchaotic dynamics in a discrete FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron model with sigmoidal recovery variable

We report the appearance of strange nonchaotic attractors in a discrete FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron model with discontinuous resetting. The well-known strange nonchaotic attractors appear in quasiperiodically forced continuous-time dynamical systems as well as in a discrete map with a small intensity of noise. Interestingly, we show that a discrete FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron model with a sigmoidal recovery variable and discontinuous resetting generates strange nonchaotic attractors without external force. These strange nonchaotic attractors occur as intermittency behavior (locally unstable behavior in laminar flow) in the periodic dynamics. We use various characterization techniques to validate the existence of strange nonchaotic attractors in the considered system.

Automated summary

This study reports the appearance of strange nonchaotic attractors in a discrete FitzHugh-Nagumo neuron model. Unlike previous studies, these attractors occur as intermittency behavior in the periodic dynamics, without relying on external forcings.