In-phase and anti-phase spikes synchronization within mixed Bursters of the pre-Bözinger complex

In this paper, the transition from anti-phase spike synchronization to in-phase spike synchronization within mixed bursters is investigated in a two-coupled pre-Bözinger complex (pre-BötC) network. In this two-coupled neuronal network, the communication between two pre-BötC networks is based on electrical and synaptic coupling. The results show that the electrical coupling accelerates in-phase spike synchronization within mixed bursters, but synaptic coupling postpones this kind of synchronization. Synaptic coupling promotes anti-phase spike synchronization when electrical coupling is weak. At the same time, the in-phase spike synchronization within dendritic bursters occurs earlier than that within somatic bursters. Asymmetric periodic somatic bursters appear in the transition state from anti-phase spikes to in-phase spikes. We also use fast/slow decomposition and bifurcation analysis to clarify the dynamic mechanism for the two types of synchronization.