Resynchronization of circadian oscillators and the east-west asymmetry of jet-lag
Abstract
Cells in the brain's Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) are known to regulate circadian rhythms in mammals. We model synchronization of SCN cells using the forced Kuramoto model, which consists of a large population of coupled phase oscillators (modeling individual SCN cells) with heterogeneous intrinsic frequencies and external periodic forcing. Here, the periodic forcing models diurnally varying external inputs such as sunrise, sunset, and alarm clocks. We reduce the dimensionality of the system using the ansatz of Ott and Antonsen and then study the effect of a sudden change of clock phase to simulate cross-time-zone travel. We estimate model parameters from previous biological experiments. By examining the phase space dynamics of the model, we study the mechanism leading to the difference typically experienced in the severity of jet-lag resulting from eastward and westward travel.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jul 12, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1063/1.4954275
Entities
People
- Edward Ott
- Kevin Klein-cardeña
- Michelle Girvan
- Steven Lee
- Thomas M. Antonsen Jr.
- Zhixin Lu
Organizations
- Army Research Office
- National Science Foundation
- University of Maryland