Entrainment in pacemakers characterized by a V-shaped PRC.
The behaviour of a class of pacemakers characterized by a V-shaped PRC has been determined, for all possible frequencies and amplitudes of stimulation. The analytical study of the phase transition equation reveals that all rhythmic stimuli, but for a set of measure zero, give rise to entrainment. The ratio between firing and stimulation frequencies is a generalized Cantor function of the ratio between spontaneous and stimulation frequencies. A procedure to compute the detailed input/output pattern that underlies each entrainment ratio is given. Finally, the neurophysiological assumptions and implications of the results obtained are discussed.
D000818:Animals; D008433:Mathematics; D008954:Models, Biological; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D009991:Oscillometry; D010507:Periodicity