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The University of North Texas, a research university of 34,000+ students |
Warren Burggren's
Developmental Physiology Lab |
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Symposium:
Complexity
in Physiological Systems: October 8-11, 2006 Virginia Beach, Virginia Facilitator:
Warren Burggren Department
of Biological Sciences University
of North Texas Denton,
TX 76203, USA “Complexity” is much like “beauty” – most recognize it, but few can define it. While one might anticipate turning to applied mathematics for inspiration, the area of “mathematical complexity” is burgeoning yet still in its infancy. “Biocomplexity” is, of course, currently a area of intense focus, but few can define it other than to say it is the description of the dynamic interactions of living organisms with each other and the environment. To the physiologist, understanding complexity may well be the key for unlocking many physiological questions, especially as we move from genomics to proteomics to true physiological systems integration. Are
physiological systems more complex because they have more pieces, more
processes, more outputs, more flexibility, more structure, etc.? Complexity in
physiological systems manifests itself many ways, and accordingly is measured or
catalogued in many ways. Most common is an “anatomical” approach, where the
number of components (structures) is taken as a measure of complexity. An
alternative physiological approach may be to measure the number of processes in
a given system. A more realistic approach may be to consider the number of
interactions – theoretical and actual - that can occur between a physiological
system’s components (e.g. the heart, blood vessels and baroreceptors of the CV
system) and its processes (material transport, blood pressure regulation). When
one considers micro-level interactions at the gene level, and macro-level
interactions between organ systems, between individuals, and between individuals
and the environment, the true measure of complexity is daunting. Yet,
understanding how complexity changes in individuals (development,
acclimatization) and in populations (adaptation, evolution) can help formulate
creative new hypotheses and shape our future experiments. This
symposium is intended to focus specifically on “physiological complexity”
and to show how embracing complexity and how it changes, rather than relegating
complexity to a necessary evil to be avoided or minimized, can enlighten our
understanding of physiological systems. Subjects considered in this symposium
will be: 1) physiological complexity through environmental interactions (e.g.
influences of temperature, light, nutrition, etc., 2) physiological complexity
through changes in physiological state (e.g. molting cycles, hibernation), 3)
physiological complexity through associated with development (e.g.
metamorphosis, senescence), and 4) physiological complexity resulting from
diversity of life cycle (e.g. parasites, symbionts, etc.). The focus will be on elucidating
physiological complexity and to study it through the use of examples, rather
than just describing systems that happen to also be complex. The
symposium will involve five main speakers, four of whom will concentrate on the
implications of complexity measurement and complexity change from the above
perspectives. The fifth speaker, an applied mathematician with a reputation for
communicating to, and collaborating with, biologists, will describe conceptual
advances in the field of complexity recognition and description, and indicate
how emerging complexity axioms can help physiologists design more effective
experiments. Symposium Program and
Schedule: The
tentative program for the conference is as follows.:
Each symposium will be 4 h (3.5 h of speaker time after accounting for the recommended 15 min coffee break in mid-morning). We have not yet been assigned a specific day. 8:30-8:40
am “Introduction: Physiological
Complexity is Easy to Recognize, Tough to Describe”
Warren Burggren, Univ. of North Texas 9:15-10:00
am “Ecology, Physiology and
Complexity” - Ray
Huey, Univ. of Washington 8:40-9:15 am
“Complexity and Physiological Changes of State” –
Michele Wheatly, Wright State University 10:00-10:15
am Coffee Break 10:15-10:50
am “Physiological Complexity,
Life-Histories and Evolution”- Robert Ricklefs, University of Missouri
– St. Louis 10:50-11:25
am “Complexity in a Clinical
Setting” Karl
Young – University of California, San Francisco.
11:25
am–12:00pm “Complexity: An
Applied Mathematician’s View” – Michael Monticino, Univerisity of
North Texas Some of these papers (or page proofs) may be of some use to you as you put together your symposium talk, even if they just lead you to interesting new directions.....
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