Following on previous work, we discuss a scenario in which two neural ensembles have a master–slave arrangement. We will consider a more particular case in which the master system exhibits transient dynamics due to a stable heteroclinic sequence (SHS) and the slave system has attractors in the form of limit cycles. We will give sufficient conditions that guarantee the existence of a SHS in the form of a tube in the full phase space, together with an open stable heteroclinic channel that surrounds it. We present a numerical observation of chaotic-like transient behaviour different from well-known transient chaos.