Autonomic Dysfunction

Team: Justen Geddes¹, Tess Jones¹, Ben Randall¹, Mette Olufsen¹, Brian Carlson², Jesper Mehlsen³, Johnny Ottesen⁴

Affiliations:¹NC State University, ²University of Michigan, ³Rigshospitalet, Denmark, ⁴Roskilde University

Recent Publications:

1. Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome explained using a baroreflex response model
   J Geddes, JT Ottesen, J Mehlsen, MS Olufsen
   Journal of Royal Society Interface, 2022
2. Signal Processing and Mechanistic Models Can Help Diagnose Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome
   J Geddes, MS Olufsen
   SIAM News, 2021
3. Global sensitivity analysis informed model reduction and selection applied to a Valsalva maneuver model
   EB Randall, NZ Randolph, A Alexanderian, MS Olufsen
   Journal of Theoretical Biology, 2021
4. Classification of orthostatic tolerance through data analytics
   S Gilmore, J Hart, J Geddes, CH Olsen, J Mehlsen, P Gremaud, MS Olufsen
   Medical & Biological Engineering & Computing, 2021
5. Characterization of blood pressure and heart rate oscillations of POTS patients via uniform phase empirical mode decomposition
   J Geddes, J Mehlsen, MS Olufsen
   IEEE, 2020
6. Persistent instability in a nonhomogeneous delay differential equation system of the Valsalva maneuver
   EB Randall, NZ Randolph, MS Olufsen
   Mathematical biosciences, 2020
7. A model-based analysis of autonomic nervous function in response to the Valsalva maneuver
   EB Randall, A Billeschou, LS Brinth, J Mehlsen, MS Olufsen
   Journal of Applied Physiology 127, 2019

Overview:
The cardiovascular system as a whole is controlled both neurally and hormonally, maintaining homeostasis. In our work, we model the reflexive neurological control systems governing blood pressure and heart rate. Primarily, we focus on the autonomic nervous system (ANS), which involuntarily controls vital bodily functions (e.g., breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, pupil dilation, etc.). When these systems do not function normally, the body suffers from ANS dysfunction can arise idiopathically or in conjunction with several diseases and disorders (e.g., Parkinson's disease, diabetes, etc.). Our goal is to understand the physiological differences between the healthy and disease states to (i) quantify these changes in cardiovascular function, (ii) detect early biomarkers for ANS dysfunction, and (iii) provide plausible hypotheses contributing to the dysfunction.

Video:

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