Synchrony and desynchrony in integrate-and-fire oscillators

Due to many experimental reports of synchronized neural activity in the brain, there is much interest in understanding synchronization in networks of oscillators and using these systems for perceptual organization. The authors examine locally coupled networks of integrate-and-fire oscillators and, contrary to a recent report by Hopfield and Herz (1995), they find that they can quickly synchronise. Moreover the authors find that time to achieve synchrony increases logarithmically with the system size. Inspired by LEGION dynamics with relaxation oscillators, the authors are able to reliably desynchronize different oscillator groups in a network of integrate-and-fire oscillators using a global inhibitor