Modeling of nonlinear physiological systems with fast and slow dynamics. II. Application to cerebral autoregulation.

Dynamic autoregulation of cerebral hemodynamics in healthy humans is studied using the novel methodology of the Laguerre-Volterra network for systems with fast and slow dynamics (Mitsis, G. D., and V. Z. Marmarelis, Ann. Biomed. Eng. 30:272-281, 2002). Since cerebral autoregulation is mediated by various physiological mechanisms with significantly different time constants, it is used to demonstrate the efficacy of the new method. Results are presented in the time and frequency domains and reveal that cerebral autoregulation is a nonlinear and dynamic (frequency-dependent) system with considerable nonstationarities. Quantification of the latter reveals greater variability in specific frequency bands for each subject in the low and middle frequency range (below 0.1 Hz). The nonlinear dynamics are prominent also in the low and middle frequency ranges, where the frequency response of the system exhibits reduced gain.