From stochasticity to determinism in the collective dynamics of diffusively coupled cells

We report a novel mechanism for the transition from stochasticity to determinism in Ca2+ oscillations via diffusive coupling of individual cells that are modelled by stochastic simulations of the governing reaction-diffusion equations. In particular, we show that by physiologically relevant conditions the collective dynamics of coupled cells is, unlike by isolated cells, deterministic for large enough ensemble sizes. The presented results explain the discrepancy regarding stochastic vs. deterministic nature between real-life recordings of physiological functions at cellular and organic level.