Dissipation and amplification management in an electrical model of microtubules: Hybrid behavior network

Abstract

The control of dissipation and amplification of solitary waves in an electrical model of a microtubule is demonstrated. This model consists of a shunt nonlinear resistance–capacitance (J(V)–C(V)) circuit and a series resistance–inductance (R–L) circuit. Through linear dispersion analysis, two features of the network are found, that is, low bandpass and bandpass filter characteristics. The effects of the conductance’s parameter λ on the linear dispersion curve are also analyzed. It appears that an increase of λ induces a decrease (an increase) of the width of the bandpass filter for positive (negative) values of λ. By applying the reductive perturbation method, we derive the equation governing the dynamics of the modulated waves in the system. This equation is the well-known nonlinear Schrödinger equation extended by a linear term proportional to a hybrid parameter σ, i.e., a dissipation or amplification coefficient. Based on this parameter, we successfully demonstrate the hybrid behavior (dissipation and amplification) of the system. The exact and approximate solitary wave solutions of the obtained equation are derived, and the effects of the coefficient σ on the characteristic parameters of these waves are investigated. Using the analytical solutions found, we show numerically that the waves that are propagated throughout the system can be dissipated, amplified, or remain stable depending on the network parameters. These results are not only in agreement with the analytical predictions, but also with the existing experimental results in the literature.