Noise-induced spatial dynamics in the presence of memory loss

We study the spatial dynamics of noise-induced waves in two-dimensional excitable media in dependence on the duration of the artificially imposed refractory time that is introduced to each constitutive system unit after an excitation. Due to the introduction of refractory times, a randomly induced spatial wave is temporarily unable to transmit information to the opposite site of its propagation direction. Thus, once the wave leaves the absorbing boundaries of the spatial grid the system has little or no recollection, depending on the duration of the refractory time, of its existence. We show that even in the presence of such memory loss, self-organization of excitatory events leads to noise-induced spatial periodicity in the media. We present a simple analytical treatment of a two-unit system to capture and explain the essence of the observed phenomenon. Since refractory times are widespread in biological systems, our results provide interesting insights into functioning of real-life organisms at the cellular as well as tissue level. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.