Dynamics of nephron-vascular network

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

The paper presents a modeling study of the spatial dynamics of a nephro-vascular network consisting of individual nephrons connected via a tree-like vascular branching structure. We focus on the effects of nonlinear mechanisms that are responsible for the formation of synchronous patterns in order to learn about processes not directly amenable to experimentation. We demonstrate that: (i) the nearest nephrons are synchronized in-phase due to a vascular propagated electrical coupling, (ii) the next few branching levels display a formation of phase-shifted patterns due to hemodynamic coupling and mode elimination, and (iii) distantly located areas show asynchronous behavior or, if all nephrons and branches are perfectly identical, an infinitely long transient behavior. These results contribute to the understanding of mechanisms responsible for the highly dynamic and limited synchronization observed among groups of nephrons despite of the fairly strong interaction between the individual units.
Original languageEnglish
JournalBulletin of Mathematical Biology
Volume74
Issue number12
Pages (from-to)2820-41
Number of pages22
ISSN0092-8240
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2012

ID: 41983112