title: Synchronization in the human cardiorespiratory system.
abstract: We investigate synchronization between cardiovascular and respiratory systems in healthy humans under free-running conditions. For this aim we analyze nonstationary irregular bivariate data, namely, electrocardiograms and measurements of respiratory flow. We briefly discuss a statistical approach to synchronization in noisy and chaotic systems and illustrate it with numerical examples; effects of phase and frequency locking are considered. Next, we present and discuss methods suitable for the detection of hidden synchronous epochs from such data. The analysis of the experimental records reveals synchronous regimes of different orders n:m and transitions between them; the physiological significance of this finding is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics, Potsdam University, Am Neuen Palais 10, Postfach 601553, D-14415 Potsdam, Germany.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schäfer
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Rosenblum
authors.forename: H H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Abel
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kurths
mesh_terms: D002319:Cardiovascular System; D006801:Humans; D015233:Models, Statistical; D009991:Oscillometry; D012137:Respiratory System; D013997:Time Factors