Noisy activation kinetics induces bursting in the Huber-Braun neuron model

We study a physiologically realistic implementation of internal stochasticity in a four-dimensional Hodgkin-Huxley type model of mammalian cold receptors. We show that in a deterministically tonic firing regime, this stochasticity can drive the neuron into a state of complex bursting behaviour. An explanation of the mechanism behind this effect is given in terms of phase space dynamics.