Influence of thermoelectric coupling on pacemaker activity generated by mechano-electric feedback in a one-dimensional ring-shaped model of cardiac fiber

The mechano-electric feedback (MEF) in the heart consists in the influence of the tissue deformations on the cardiac electrical activity. Under certain conditions, tissue deformations can generate electrical perturbations via stretch-activated channels, such that the membrane potential can exceed the threshold value needed in order to trigger cardiac action potentials (APs). In the present study, we have developed a one-dimensional ring-shaped model of cardiac fiber taking into account three different couplings: the excitation-contraction coupling (ECC), the MEF and the thermoelectric coupling (TEC). The main goal of this work is to examine the effects of the TEC on the different properties of the pacemaker activity generated by the MEF.