The generation of oscillations in networks of electrically coupled cells

In several biological systems, the electrical coupling of nonoscillating ce lls generates synchronized membrane potential oscillations. Because the iso lated cell is nonoscillating and electrical coupling tends to equalize the membrane potentials of the coupled cells, the mechanism underlying these os cillations is unclear. Here we present a dynamic: mechanism by which the el ectrical coupling of identical nonoscillating cells can generate synchronou s membrane potential oscillations. We demonstrate this mechanism by constru cting a biologically feasible model of electrically coupled cells, characte rized by an excitable membrane and calcium dynamics. We show that strong el ectrical coupling in this network generates multiple oscillatory states wit h different spatio-temporal patterns and discuss their possible role in the cooperative computations performed by the system.