Regulation of self-sustained target waves in excitable small-world networks

•The regulation of self-sustained target wave in excitable small-world network is investigated.•Three aspects of regulation have been discussed.•The oscillation period can be regulated within certain limits.•Arbitrary oscillation center regulation can be achieved successfully.•Two necessary steps are revealed to suppress the oscillation effectively.

In this paper we systematically investigate the regulation of self-sustained target waves in excitable small-world networks (ESWNs) based on the dominant phase-advanced driving (DPAD) method. Three aspects of regulation, oscillation period regulation, oscillation center regulation and oscillation suppression, have been studied in detail and the following results are obtained: (i) The oscillation period can be regulated by manipulating the length of oscillation source within certain limits. (ii) Arbitrary oscillation center regulation can be achieved successfully. (iii) Two necessary steps are revealed to suppress the oscillation effectively.