Excitable media comprise a class of models for a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological systems that exhibit spontaneous formation of spatial patterns. Patterns in Excitable Media: Genesis, Dynamics, and Control covers recent developments in the interdisciplinary field of dynamics and control of patterns in nonlinear biological systems described by excitable media models. Using examples of many real-life systems, it explores the impact of pattern dynamics on the structural and functional heterogeneities in the system. The book also discusses low-amplitude control schemes for eliminating patterns from an excitable medium, such as life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia. Codes for numerical simulation are provided in the appendix.

Excitable media comprise a class of models for a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological systems that exhibit spontaneous formation of spatial patterns. Patterns in Excitable Media: Genesis, Dynamics, and Control explores several aspects of the dynamics of such patterns—in particular their evolution upon interaction with structural and functional heterogeneities in the system. The book provides readers with an introduction to recent developments in the interdisciplinary field of dynamics and control of patterns in nonlinear biological systems described by excitable media models. It also discusses low-amplitude control schemes for eliminating such patterns from an excitable medium which has direct clinical relevance in view of the close connection to life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia.

Proceedings of a NATO ARW held in Leeds, UK, September 11-15, 1989

This book focuses on a challenging application field of cellular automata: pattern formation in biological systems, such as the growth of microorganisms, dynamics of cellular tissue and tumors, and formation of pigment cell patterns. These phenomena, resulting from complex cellular interactions, cannot be deduced solely from experimental analysis, but can be more easily examined using mathematical models, in particular, cellular automaton models. While there are various books treating cellular automaton modeling, this interdisciplinary work is the first one covering biological applications. The book is aimed at researchers, practitioners, and students in applied mathematics, mathematical biology, computational physics, bioengineering, and computer science interested in a cellular automaton approach to biological modeling.

This IMA Volume in Mathematics and its Applications PATTERN FORMATION IN CONTINUOUS AND COUPLED SYSTEMS is based on the proceedings of a workshop with the same title, but goes be yond the proceedings by presenting a series of mini-review articles that sur vey, and provide an introduction to, interesting problems in the field. The workshop was an integral part of the 1997-98 IMA program on "EMERG ING APPLICATIONS OF DYNAMICAL SYSTEMS." I would like to thank Martin Golubitsky, University of Houston (Math ematics) Dan Luss, University of Houston (Chemical Engineering), and Steven H. Strogatz, Cornell University (Theoretical and Applied Mechan ics) for their excellent work as organizers of the meeting and for editing the proceedings. I also take this opportunity to thank the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Army Research Office (ARO), whose financial support made the workshop possible. Willard Miller, Jr., Professor and Director v PREFACE Pattern formation has been studied intensively for most of this cen tury by both experimentalists and theoreticians, and there have been many workshops and conferences devoted to the subject. In the IMA workshop on Pattern Formation in Continuous and Coupled Systems held May 11-15, 1998 we attempted to focus on new directions in the patterns literature.

TIlis volume contains the contributions to the Euromech Colloquium No. 241 on Nonlinear Waves in Active Media at the Institute of Cybernetics of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Tallinn, Estonia, USSR, September 27-30, 1988. The Co-chairmen of the Euromech Colloquium felt that it would be a good service to the community to publish these proceedings. First, the topic itself dealing with various wave processes with energy influx is extremely interesting and attracted a much larger number of participants than usual - a clear sign of its importance to the scientific community. Second, Euromech No. 241 was actually the first Euromech Colloquium held in the Soviet Union and could thus be viewed as a milestone in the extending scientific contacts between East and West. At the colloquium 50 researchers working in very different branches of sci ence met to lecture on their results and to discuss problems of common interest. An introductory paper by I. Engelbrecht presents the common motivation and background of the topics covered. Altogether 36 speakers presented their lectures, of which 30 are gathered here. The remaining six papers which will appear elsewhere are listed on page X. In addition, three contributions by authors who could not attend the colloquium are included. The two lectures given by A.S. Mikhailov, V.S. Davydov and V.S. Zykov are here published as one long paper.

An account of how complex patterns form in sustained nonequilibrium systems; for graduate students in biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and physics.