title: Functional characterization of oscillatory and excitable media.
abstract: Cardiac and neural systems share common features of intrinsic oscillation in some cells as well as the ability to propagate excitation. One theoretical approach to study such systems is to develop realistic models for the tissue. This involves first developing detailed ionic "Hodgkin-Huxley"-type models of individual cells and then connecting the individual cells via synaptic and gap junctions in realistic geometries. An alternative approach is to characterize tissue in terms of functional properties such as phase resetting curves and restitution curves. Using simple models based on one-dimensional difference equations, the measured functional curves can be used to predict, analyze, and interpret nonlinear dynamical phenomena. This approach offers the prospects of providing simplified descriptions that offer insight into the experimental and clinical cardiac dynamics.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, McGill University, 3655 Promenade Sir William Osler, Montreal, QC , H3G 1Y6, Canada, glass@cnd.mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Leon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Glass
authors.forename: Alvin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shrier
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D001683:Biological Clocks; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006327:Heart Block / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D008954:Models, Biological; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D008959:Models, Neurological