Memory model for a local cardiac system

In a recent paper, N. F. Otani and R. F. Gilmour, Jr., Memory models for the electrical properties of local cardiac systems, Journal of Theoretical Biology 187, 409-436 (1997), we sought to explain the complicated pattern of action potential amplitudes and durations observed when small cardiac preparations are electrically paced at rapid regular intervals.

The following movies are enhancements of the plots presented in the paper, showing features difficult to depict without the clarity of the third dimension. Each movie is presented in GIF format together with an explanation of what is being displayed. We've also provided links to MPEG and Quicktime versions of each movie, for those who have appropriate viewers. The use of viewers is recommended, as they typically have controls which allow you to stop on interesting frames, adjust the speed of the movie, etc. You can also tell which frame is the first frame of the movie in these viewers, whereas I haven't had a chance to mark them in the GIF movies yet. Note: some of the MPEG movies appear fuzzy in some viewers, for some reason. If this happens, try another format, or another MPEG viewer.

Movie of Fig. 4 (Size: 368K)

Movie of Fig. 11 (Size: 54K)

Movie of Fig. 22 (Size: 71K)

A Java applet containing the main computer model used in this study is also available.

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