Study of propagation along nonuniform excitable fibers
Abstract:
Two related reaction diffusion systems that support traveling wave solutions when parameters are constant are studied when there are jump discontinuities in the diffusion coefficient. The first system represents a classical axon model where the fiber had a jump in diameter at discrete locations and the membrane dynamics represent those of barnacle muscle (which we call Morris-Lecar dynamics). The second model represents a passive cable with a uniform density of spines that have Morris-Lecar dynamics. Conditions under which echo waves form are studied, as well as conditions when wave blocking takes place with a thickening of the fiber.
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