title: Does synchronization reflect a true interaction in the cardiorespiratory system?
abstract: Cardiorespiratory synchronization, studied within the framework of phase synchronization, has recently raised interest as one of the interactions in the cardiorespiratory system. In this work, we present a quantitative approach to the analysis of this nonlinear phenomenon. Our primary aim is to determine whether synchronization between HR and respiration rate is a real phenomenon or a random one. First, we developed an algorithm, which detects epochs of synchronization automatically and objectively. The algorithm was applied to recordings of respiration and HR obtained from 13 normal subjects and 13 heart transplant patients. Surrogate data sets were constructed from the original recordings, specifically lacking the coupling between HR and respiration. The statistical properties of synchronization in the two data sets and in their surrogates were compared. Synchronization was observed in all groups: in normal subjects, in the heart transplant patients and in the surrogates. Interestingly, synchronization was less abundant in normal subjects than in the transplant patients, indicating that the unique physiological condition of the latter promote cardiorespiratory synchronization. The duration of synchronization epochs was significantly shorter in the surrogate data of both data sets, suggesting that at least some of the synchronization epochs are real. In view of those results, cardiorespiratory synchronization, although not a major feature of cardiorespiratory interaction, seems to be a real phenomenon rather than an artifact.
authors.affiliation: The Abramson Center of Medical Physics, Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel Aviv University, P.O. Box 39040, 69978, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Toledo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akselrod
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pinhas
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Aravot
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D055592:Biophysical Phenomena; D001703:Biophysics; D002319:Cardiovascular System; D006334:Heart Function Tests; D016027:Heart Transplantation; D006801:Humans; D012119:Respiration; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013997:Time Factors