Fig 9. Significant variability of oscillatory periods induced by contextual input on oscillation period of a single model cell.

(A) Distribution of inter-peak intervals for a single model cell under 5 s of contextual stimulus (OU current) of different amplitudes. To gauge period variability without introducing refractory periods, input levels were chosen for non-spiking subthreshold dynamics only. The unperturbed model cell (in black) produces regular periods, while weak levels of contextual input are sufficient to create substantial variability (red and blue). (B) Example traces of membrane potential and (C) phase for the single cell under perturbations, for the same random seed. Note that under contextual input there was substantial variation in periods, but similar STO periodicity despite different levels of input.