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Spatial heterogeneity enhances and modulates excitability in a mathematical model of the myometrium
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Sheldon, Rachel E., Baghdadi, Marc, McCloskey, Conor, Blanks, Andrew M., Shmygol, Anatoly and Berg, Hugo van den (2013) Spatial heterogeneity enhances and modulates excitability in a mathematical model of the myometrium. Journal of The Royal Society Interface, Volume 10 (Number 86). p. 20130458. doi:10.1098/rsif.2013.0458
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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2013.0458
Abstract
The muscular layer of the uterus (myometrium) undergoes profound changes in global excitability prior to parturition. Here, a mathematical model of the myocyte network is developed to investigate the hypothesis that spatial heterogeneity is essential to the transition from local to global excitation which the myometrium undergoes just prior to birth. Each myometrial smooth muscle cell is represented by an element with FitzHugh–Nagumo dynamics. The cells are coupled through resistors that represent gap junctions. Spatial heterogeneity is introduced by means of stochastic variation in coupling strengths, with parameters derived from physiological data. Numerical simulations indicate that even modest increases in the heterogeneity of the system can amplify the ability of locally applied stimuli to elicit global excitation. Moreover, in networks driven by a pacemaker cell, global oscillations of excitation are impeded in fully connected and strongly coupled networks. The ability of a locally stimulated cell or pacemaker cell to excite the network is shown to be strongly dependent on the local spatial correlation structure of the couplings. In summary, spatial heterogeneity is a key factor in enhancing and modulating global excitability.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||
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| Subjects: | Q Science > QA Mathematics Q Science > QH Natural history > QH301 Biology |
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| Divisions: | Faculty of Science > Molecular Organisation and Assembly in Cells (MOAC) Faculty of Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Biomedical Sciences > Translational & Experimental Medicine > Reproductive Health ( - until July 2016) Faculty of Science > Centre for Systems Biology Faculty of Medicine > Warwick Medical School |
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| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Uterus, Myometrium, Parturition, Childbirth, Labor (Obstetrics), Cytology -- Research | ||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | Journal of The Royal Society Interface | ||||
| Publisher: | The Royal Society Publishing | ||||
| ISSN: | 1742-5689 | ||||
| Official Date: | 2013 | ||||
| Dates: |
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| Volume: | Volume 10 | ||||
| Number: | Number 86 | ||||
| Page Range: | p. 20130458 | ||||
| DOI: | 10.1098/rsif.2013.0458 | ||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||
| Funder: | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), University of Warwick. Molecular Organisation and Assembly in Cells | ||||
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