Formation of multi-armed spiral waves in neuronal network induced by adjusting ion channel conductance

The Hodgkin-Huxley neuron model is used to describe the local dynamics of nodes in a two-dimensional regular network with nearest-neighbor connections. Multi-armed spiral waves emerge when a group of spiral waves rotate the same core synchronously. Here we have numerically investigated how multi-armed spiral waves are formed in such a system. Under the appropriate conditions, multi-armed spiral waves were able to develop as a result of adjusting the conductance of ion channels of particular neurons in the network. In a realistic neuron model, it can be practiced by blocking potassium of ion channels embedded in the membrane of neurons. For example, decreasing the potassium channel conductance in some neurons with a certain transient period can lead to the development of a group of double spirals in a localized area of the network. Furthermore, decreasing the excitability and the external forcing current to zero led to the growth of these double spirals and the formation of a stable multi-armed spiral wave that occupied the network under inhomogeneity.