Transition to complete synchronization via near-synchronization in two coupled chaotic neurons

The synchronization transition in two coupled chaotic Morris-Lecar (ML) neurons with gap junction is studied with the coupling strength increasing. The conditional Lyapunov exponents, along with the synchronization errors are calculated to diagnose synchronization of two coupled chaotic ML neurons. As a result, it is shown that the increase in the coupling strength leads to incoherence, then induces a transition process consisting of three different synchronization states in succession, namely, burst synchronization, near-synchronization and embedded burst synchronization and achieves complete synchronization of two coupled neurons finally. These sequential transitions to synchronization reveal a new transition route from incoherence to complete synchronization in coupled systems with multi-time scales.