Neuromodulatory systems

Abstract

We examine the interactions and interdependencies between Neuroglia, the Brain-Cell Microenvironment, and the processes commonly subsumed under Neuromodulation. The interactions of the component processes covering a wide spectrum of frequencies are designated as Neuromodulatory Systems (NMS). This implies NMS's scale-invariance as the capacity of linking actions across many time scales, and self-similarity at any scale. These features endow NMS with the ability to respond adaptively to neural impulse traffic of an unpredictably wide frequency spectrum. In this preliminary perspective, the components of NMS are only outlined based on concepts of Complex Systems Dynamics. However, their interactions must be formally elaborated in further investigations. © 2013 Werner and Mitterauer.