Physica D 206 (2005) 32–48 Regular dynamics in a delayed network of two neurons with all-or-none activation functions Shangjiang Guo a, , Lihong Huang a , Jianhong Wu b a CollegeofMathematicsandEconometrics,HunanUniversity,Changsha,Hunan410082,PRChina b DepartmentofMathematicsandStatistics,YorkUniversity,Toronto,Ont.,CanadaM3J1P3 Received 14 October 2002; received in revised form 25 May 2003; accepted 27 September 2003 Available online 25 May 2005 Communicated by C.K.R.T. Jones Abstract We consider a delayed network of two neurons with both self-feedback and interaction described by an all-or-none threshold function. The model describes a combination of analog and digital signal processing in the network and takes the form of a system of delay differential equations with discontinuous nonlinearity. We show that the dynamics of the network can be understood in terms of the iteration of a one-dimensional map, and we obtain simple criteria for the convergence of solutions, the existence, multiplicity and attractivity of periodic solutions. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. PACS: 02.30.ks; 87.10.+e Keywords: Neural networks; Delayed feedback; One-dimensional map; Convergence; Periodic solutions 1. Introduction We consider the following model for an artificial network of two neurons ˙ x =-μx + a 11 f (x(t - τ )) + a 12 f (y(t - τ )), ˙ y =-μy + a 21 f (x(t - τ )) + a 22 f (y(t - τ )), (1) where ˙ x = dx/dt , x(t ) and y(t ) denote the state variables associated with the neurons, μ> 0 is the interact decay rate, τ> 0 is the synaptic transmission delay, a 11 ,a 12 ,a 21 and a 22 are the synaptic weights, and f : R R is the Corresponding author. E-mailaddress: shangjguo@etang.com (S. Guo). 0167-2789/$ – see front matter © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.physd.2003.09.049