Stochastic resonance and energy consumption are significant for information processing and transmission in the neural system. In this paper, we constructed an excitatory–inhibitory cortical neuronal network to investigate the response of the system to weak signals and the corresponding energy consumption. The findings indicate that the excitability of neurons modulates the performance of signal response. Furthermore, the performance of signal response exhibits a bell-shaped dependence on ion channel noise, which is a typical manifestation of t...