"We describe a novel dynamic mechanism for episodic or compound bursting
oscillations, in which bursts of electrical impulses are clustered together into episodes,
separated by long silent phases. We demonstrate the mechanism for episodic bursting
using a minimal mathematical model for “phantom bursting.” Depending on the location
in parameter space, this model can produce fast, medium, or slow bursting, or in the
present case, fast, slow, and episodic bursting. The episodic bursting is modestly robust
to noise and to parameter variation, and the effect that noise has on the episodic bursting
pattern is quite different from that of an alternate episodic burst mechanism in which
the slow envelope is produced by metabolic oscillations. This mechanism could account
for episodic bursting produced in endocrine cells or neurons, such as pancreatic islets or
gonadotropin releasing neurons of the hypothalamus."
Reference:
1 .
Bertram R, Rhoads J, Cimbora WP (2008) A phantom bursting mechanism for episodic bursting. Bull Math Biol 70:1979-93 [PubMed]
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