Network physiology reveals relations between network topology and physiological function

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Abstract

The human organism is an integrated network where complex physiological systems, each with its own regulatory mechanisms, continuously interact, and where failure of one system can trigger a breakdown of the entire network. Identifying and quantifying dynamical networks of diverse systems with different types of interactions is a challenge. Here we develop a framework to probe interactions among diverse systems, and we identify a physiological network. We find that each physiological state is characterized by a specific network structure, demonstrating a robust interplay between network topology and function. Across physiological states, the network undergoes topological transitions associated with fast reorganization of physiological interactions on time scales of a few minutes, indicating high network flexibility in response to perturbations. The proposed system-wide integrative approach may facilitate the development of a new field, Network Physiology. © 2012 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.

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Bashan, A., Bartsch, R. P., Kantelhardt, J. W., Havlin, S., & Ivanov, P. C. (2012). Network physiology reveals relations between network topology and physiological function. Nature Communications, 3. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1705

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