Diffusively coupled bursters: Effects of cell heterogeneity |
| |
Authors: | Gerda De Vries Arthur Sherman Hsiu-Rong Zhu |
| |
Institution: | (1) Mathematical Research Branch, NIDDK, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA;(2) 16203 S. 26th Place, Phoenix, AZ 85048, USA |
| |
Abstract: | The interaction of a pair of weakly coupled biological bursters is examined. Bursting refers to oscillations in which an observable
slowly alternates between phases of relative quiescence and rapid oscillatory behavior. The motivation for this work is to
understand the role of electrical coupling in promoting the synchronization of bursting electrical activity (BEA) observed
in the β-cells of the islet of Langerhans, which secrete insulin in response to glucose. By studying the coupled fast subsystem of
a model of BEA, we focus on the interaction that occurs during the rapid oscillatory phase. Coupling is weak, diffusive and
non-scalar. In addition, non-identical oscillators are permitted. Using perturbation methods with the assumption that the
uncoupled oscillators are near a Hopf bifurcation, a reduced system of equations is obtained. A detailed bifurcation study
of this reduced system reveals a variety of patterns but suggests that asymmetrically phase-locked solutions are the most
typical. Finally, the results are applied to the unreduced full bursting system and used to predict the burst pattern for
a pair of cells with a given coupling strength and degree of heterogeneity.
An erratum to this article is available at . |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 PubMed SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|