Synchronization of hyperexcitable systems with phase-repulsive coupling - art. no. 041912

We study two-dimensional arrays of FitzHugh-Nagumo elements with nearest-ne ighbor coupling from the viewpoint of synchronization. The elements are dif fusively coupled. By varying the diffusion coefficient from positive to neg ative values, interesting synchronization patterns are observed. The result s of the simulations resemble the intracellular oscillation patterns observ ed in cultured human epileptic astrocytes. Three measures are proposed to d etermine the degree of synchronization (or coupling) in both the simulated and the experimental system.