Spiral wave generation in heterogeneous excitable media.
As the coupling in a heterogeneous excitable medium is reduced, three different types of behavior are encountered: plane waves propagate without breaking up, plane waves break up into spiral waves, and plane waves block. We illustrate these phenomena in monolayers of chick embryonic heart cells using calcium sensitive fluorescent dyes. Following the addition of heptanol, an agent that reduces the electrical coupling between cells, we observe breakup of spiral waves. These results are modeled in a heterogeneous cellular automaton model in which the neighborhood of interaction is modified.
Bub
Gil
G
Department of Physiology, McGill University, 3655 Drummond Street, Montreal, Quebec, Canada H3G 1Y6.
Shrier
Alvin
A
Glass
Leon
L
D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002642:Chick Embryo; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D019850:Heptanol / Q000494:pharmacology; D007365:Intercellular Junctions / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008954:Models, Biological; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D055095:Optics and Photonics
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D019850:Heptanol; D002118:Calcium