by Dr. Soling Zimik, IISER Thiruvananthapuram

Abstract:

One of the crucial ways bioelectricity supports life is by orchestrating rhythmic muscle contractions in vital organs, such as the heart, to pump blood, where electrical excitations induce these contractions. Various patterns of excitation — clustered oscillations, travelling waves, and coherent activation — can emerge in the tissue based on its constitutive properties, leading to distinct contractile activities. In this talk, I will give an account of the complex spatiotemporal dynamics in excitable systems, focusing on the heart, emphasizing how specific excitation patterns lead to irregular contractile behavior, such as cardiac arrhythmias, and how mechanical interactions among cells in the tissue promote robust synchronized activity. I will conclude by outlining future directions for this research and by briefly discussing pattern formation in an active viscoelastic solid as a model for embryogenic tissue.