Impulsive pinning complex dynamical networks and applications to firing neuronal synchronization

The primary objective of this paper is to propose a new approach for analyzing pinning stability in a complex dynamical network via impulsive control. A simple yet generic criterion of impulsive pinning synchronization for such coupled oscillator network is derived analytically. It is shown that a single impulsive controller can always pin a given complex dynamical network to a homogeneous solution. Subsequently, the theoretic result is applied to a small-world (SW) neuronal network comprised of the Hindmarsh–Rose oscillators. It turns out that the firing activities of a single neuron can induce synchronization of the underlying neuronal networks. This conclusion is obviously in consistence with empirical evidence from the biological experiments, which plays a significant role in neural signal encoding and transduction of information processing for neuronal activity. Finally, simulations are provided to demonstrate the practical nature of the theoretical results.