Collective Phenomena in Kidney Autoregulation

By controling the excretion of water and salts, the kidneys play all important role ill regulating the blood pressure and maintaining a proper environment for the cells of the body. This control depends to a large extent oil mechanisms that are associated with the individual functional unit, the nephron. However, a variety of cooperative phenomena arising through interactions between the nephrons may also be important. We prescut experimental evidence for a coupling between nephrons that are connected via a common piece of afferent arteriole. We also develop a mathematical model that call account for the observed synchronization phenomena, and discuss the possible physiological significance of these phenomena. We are particularly interested ill synchronization effects that call occur among neighboring nephrons that individually display irregular (or chaotic) dynamics in their pressure and flow regulation.