The Human Organism as an Integrated Interaction Network: Recent Conceptual and Methodological Challenges
The field of Network Physiology aims to advance our understanding of how physiological systems and sub-systems interact to generate a variety of behaviors and distinct physiological states, to optimize the organism's functioning, and to maintain health. Within this framework, which considers th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2020-12-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Physiology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2020.598694/full |
| _version_ | 1818388233699983360 |
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| author | Klaus Lehnertz Klaus Lehnertz Klaus Lehnertz Timo Bröhl Timo Bröhl Thorsten Rings Thorsten Rings |
| author_facet | Klaus Lehnertz Klaus Lehnertz Klaus Lehnertz Timo Bröhl Timo Bröhl Thorsten Rings Thorsten Rings |
| author_sort | Klaus Lehnertz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The field of Network Physiology aims to advance our understanding of how physiological systems and sub-systems interact to generate a variety of behaviors and distinct physiological states, to optimize the organism's functioning, and to maintain health. Within this framework, which considers the human organism as an integrated network, vertices are associated with organs while edges represent time-varying interactions between vertices. Likewise, vertices may represent networks on smaller spatial scales leading to a complex mixture of interacting homogeneous and inhomogeneous networks of networks. Lacking adequate analytic tools and a theoretical framework to probe interactions within and among diverse physiological systems, current approaches focus on inferring properties of time-varying interactions—namely strength, direction, and functional form—from time-locked recordings of physiological observables. To this end, a variety of bivariate or, in general, multivariate time-series-analysis techniques, which are derived from diverse mathematical and physical concepts, are employed and the resulting time-dependent networks can then be further characterized with methods from network theory. Despite the many promising new developments, there are still problems that evade from a satisfactory solution. Here we address several important challenges that could aid in finding new perspectives and inspire the development of theoretic and analytical concepts to deal with these challenges and in studying the complex interactions between physiological systems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T04:22:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b705f05dcc5a48058cac272f525ef59d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-042X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T04:22:35Z |
| publishDate | 2020-12-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Physiology |
| spelling | doaj.art-b705f05dcc5a48058cac272f525ef59d2022-12-21T23:17:18ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Physiology1664-042X2020-12-011110.3389/fphys.2020.598694598694The Human Organism as an Integrated Interaction Network: Recent Conceptual and Methodological ChallengesKlaus Lehnertz0Klaus Lehnertz1Klaus Lehnertz2Timo Bröhl3Timo Bröhl4Thorsten Rings5Thorsten Rings6Department of Epileptology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, GermanyHelmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics, University of Bonn, Bonn, GermanyInterdisciplinary Center for Complex Systems, University of Bonn, Bonn, GermanyDepartment of Epileptology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, GermanyHelmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics, University of Bonn, Bonn, GermanyDepartment of Epileptology, University of Bonn Medical Centre, Bonn, GermanyHelmholtz Institute for Radiation and Nuclear Physics, University of Bonn, Bonn, GermanyThe field of Network Physiology aims to advance our understanding of how physiological systems and sub-systems interact to generate a variety of behaviors and distinct physiological states, to optimize the organism's functioning, and to maintain health. Within this framework, which considers the human organism as an integrated network, vertices are associated with organs while edges represent time-varying interactions between vertices. Likewise, vertices may represent networks on smaller spatial scales leading to a complex mixture of interacting homogeneous and inhomogeneous networks of networks. Lacking adequate analytic tools and a theoretical framework to probe interactions within and among diverse physiological systems, current approaches focus on inferring properties of time-varying interactions—namely strength, direction, and functional form—from time-locked recordings of physiological observables. To this end, a variety of bivariate or, in general, multivariate time-series-analysis techniques, which are derived from diverse mathematical and physical concepts, are employed and the resulting time-dependent networks can then be further characterized with methods from network theory. Despite the many promising new developments, there are still problems that evade from a satisfactory solution. Here we address several important challenges that could aid in finding new perspectives and inspire the development of theoretic and analytical concepts to deal with these challenges and in studying the complex interactions between physiological systems.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2020.598694/fullcomplex networkstime-series-analysis techniquessurrogate conceptsinverse problemphysiological systemsorgan communications |
| spellingShingle | Klaus Lehnertz Klaus Lehnertz Klaus Lehnertz Timo Bröhl Timo Bröhl Thorsten Rings Thorsten Rings The Human Organism as an Integrated Interaction Network: Recent Conceptual and Methodological Challenges Frontiers in Physiology complex networks time-series-analysis techniques surrogate concepts inverse problem physiological systems organ communications |
| title | The Human Organism as an Integrated Interaction Network: Recent Conceptual and Methodological Challenges |
| title_full | The Human Organism as an Integrated Interaction Network: Recent Conceptual and Methodological Challenges |
| title_fullStr | The Human Organism as an Integrated Interaction Network: Recent Conceptual and Methodological Challenges |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Human Organism as an Integrated Interaction Network: Recent Conceptual and Methodological Challenges |
| title_short | The Human Organism as an Integrated Interaction Network: Recent Conceptual and Methodological Challenges |
| title_sort | human organism as an integrated interaction network recent conceptual and methodological challenges |
| topic | complex networks time-series-analysis techniques surrogate concepts inverse problem physiological systems organ communications |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2020.598694/full |
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