title: Defining the complex behavior of the heart.
abstract: Previous studies on heart growth and development have elucidated important gene- and cellular-level changes. The development of improved biochemical, mathematical, and computational methods has enabled more accurate elaboration of the structural and functional processes of the heart. Systematic analyses of heart complexity have revealed the differences between normal and pathological growth and development in terms of self-organizational ability, energy balance, clock regulation, and heart rate variability. The present study summarizes what is known about cardiac behaviors and characteristics during heart growth and development. The results indicate that the heart demonstrates systematic complexity, and suggest that new characteristic analyses and treatments of heart diseases can be expected in the future.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Burn Research, State Key Laboratory ofTrauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Southwest Hospital,Third Military Medical University, Chongqing, China. tongdali1985@163.com
authors.forename: Da-Li
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.forename: Dong-Xia
authors.initials: DX
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yue-Sheng
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D001683:Biological Clocks; D002450:Cell Communication; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006321:Heart / Q000196:embryology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D006339:Heart Rate; D006801:Humans; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D038081:Organogenesis