Period-doubling instability and memory in cardiac tissue

Theoretical studies have indicated that alternans (period-doubling instability) of action potential duration is associated with a restitution relation with a slope >or=1. However, recent experimental findings suggest that the slope of the restitution relation is not necessarily predictive of alternans. Here, we compared a return map memory model to action potential data from an ionic model and found that the memory model reproduced dynamics that could not be explained by a unidimensional restitution relation. Using linear stability analysis, we determined the onset of the alternans in the memory model and confirmed that the slope of the restitution curve was not predictive.