Analytical Approach to Noise Effects on Synchronization in a System of   Coupled Excitable Elements
  We report relationships between the effects of noise and applied constant currents on the behavior of a system of excitable elements. The analytical approach based on the nonlinear Fokker-Planck equation of a mean-field model allows us to study the effects of noise without approximations only by dealing with deterministic nonlinear dynamics . We find the similarity, with respect to the occurrence of oscillations involving subcritical Hopf bifurcations, between the systems of an excitable element with applied constant currents and mean-field coupled excitable elements with noise. 
K. Okumura, M. Shiino
cond-mat.dis-nn nlin.CD