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Self-Organized Transition to Coherent Activity in Disordered Media

Rajeev Singh, Jinshan Xu, Nicolas G. Garnier, Alain Pumir, and Sitabhra Sinha
Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 068102 – Published 9 February 2012
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Abstract

Synchronized oscillations are of critical functional importance in many biological systems. We show that such oscillations can arise without centralized coordination in a disordered system of electrically coupled excitable and passive cells. Increasing the coupling strength results in waves that lead to coherent periodic activity, exhibiting cluster, local and global synchronization under different conditions. Our results may explain the self-organized transition in a pregnant uterus from transient, localized activity initially to system-wide coherent excitations just before delivery.

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  • Received 4 July 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.068102

© 2012 American Physical Society

Synopsis

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Birth Rhythms

Published 9 February 2012

A model explains why, during pregnancy, contractions in the uterus exhibit collective behavior.

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Authors & Affiliations

Rajeev Singh1, Jinshan Xu2,3, Nicolas G. Garnier2, Alain Pumir2, and Sitabhra Sinha1

  • 1The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, CIT Campus, Taramani, Chennai 600113, India
  • 2Laboratoire de Physique, ENS de Lyon and CNRS, 46 Allée d’Italie, 69007, Lyon, France
  • 3Department of Physics, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 20062, China

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Issue

Vol. 108, Iss. 6 — 10 February 2012

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