ICTS

Diffusively coupled electrically excitable and passive cells are ubiquitous in many biological tissues like the neurons, heart muscles, interstitial Cajal-like cells  of the pancreas etc. Mathematical models have been used to investigate the widely varying spatiotemporal profiles of the dynamical activity of these cell-types. In order to unravel the emergent collective behaviour of such systems, we systematically investigate various motifs of cell assemblies and characterize different dynamical phenomenon, such as synchronization and spiral waves, that occur as a result of spatial heterogeneities in the system. Our results assume significance in the context of the pregnant uterus where the appearance of coordinated activation waves are observed even in the absence of pacemaker cells.