Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Models

A special issue of Clocks & Sleep (ISSN 2624-5175). This special issue belongs to the section "Computational Models".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 2851

Special Issue Editor

Research Institute for Molecular Biology and Biophysics, Novosibirsk, Russia
Interests: sleep regulation; circadian biology; biomedical modeling; chronotypology; individual differences

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The basic properties of biological time-measuring systems have easily lent themselves to mathematical modeling. Therefore, such modeling has been always worked together with experimental approaches to research providing better understanding and prediction of findings of future experimental studies of various rhythmic phenomena in the living nature. Importantly, such modeling is often applied as a tool for the development of a deductive chronobiological theory (i.e., deductive, or “top-down”, approach to research methodology begins with a hypothesis based on existing knowledge about most general properties of a system under investigation and then seeks to test an established theory experimentally). It is also necessary to emphasize that the mathematical modeling and model-based simulations of the rhythmic biological phenomena are far from being just an effort to solve differential equations and adapt them for fitting the collected empirical data. The more important mission of mathematical modeling is in providing a possibility 1) to force a critical analysis of existing empirical datasets, 2) to enable extraction of additional information from current datasets beyond what can be reported from common statistical analysis, 3) to allow a more effective user of research resources, 4) to help in designing experimental protocols, 5) to provide a possibility to accurately predict the results in as-yet-untested conditions, 6) to point at the hypothetical structures and processes that can be discovered in later studies, 7) to uncover the underlying mechanisms and their basic components, 8) to give a common language to researchers studying different rhythmic phenomena in various species, organs, systems, and processes, etc. The two-process model of sleep-wake regulation developed by Alexander Borbely, Serge Daan, and Domien Beersma can serve as an example of a successful story of mathematical modeling and model-based simulations in the field of sleep and biological rhythm research. It has become the major contributor to our insights into the mechanisms underlying the 24-h sleep-wake pattern for the last four decades.

This Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series, “Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Models”, will cover a selection of recent research topics and current review articles in the field of sleep and circadian rhythms modeling.

Dr. Arcady Putilov
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Clocks & Sleep is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biological oscillators
  • entrainment
  • synchronization
  • neural network model
  • circadian clock
  • modeling
  • sleep regulation
  • homeostatic sleep regulation
  • circadian sleep regulation
  • oscillatory homeostats
  • sleep–wake timing
  • computer simulation

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 1068 KiB  
Article
Can the Brain’s Thermostatic Mechanism Generate Sleep-Wake and NREM-REM Sleep Cycles? A Nested Doll Model of Sleep-Regulating Processes
by Arcady A. Putilov
Clocks & Sleep 2024, 6(1), 97-113; https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep6010008 - 19 Feb 2024
Viewed by 743
Abstract
Evidence is gradually accumulating in support of the hypothesis that a process of thermostatic brain cooling and warming underlies sleep cycles, i.e., the alternations between non-rapid-eye-movement and rapid-eye-movement sleep throughout the sleep phase of the sleep-wake cycle. A mathematical thermostat model predicts an [...] Read more.
Evidence is gradually accumulating in support of the hypothesis that a process of thermostatic brain cooling and warming underlies sleep cycles, i.e., the alternations between non-rapid-eye-movement and rapid-eye-movement sleep throughout the sleep phase of the sleep-wake cycle. A mathematical thermostat model predicts an exponential shape of fluctuations in temperature above and below the desired temperature setpoint. If the thermostatic process underlies sleep cycles, can this model explain the mechanisms governing the sleep cyclicities in humans? The proposed nested doll model incorporates Process s generating sleep cycles into Process S generating sleep-wake cycles of the two-process model of sleep-wake regulation. Process s produces ultradian fluctuations around the setpoint, while Process S turns this setpoint up and down in accord with the durations of the preceding wake phase and the following sleep phase of the sleep-wake cycle, respectively. Predictions of the model were obtained in an in silico study and confirmed by simulations of oscillations of spectral electroencephalographic indexes of sleep regulation obtained from night sleep and multiple napping attempts. Only simple—inverse exponential and exponential—functions from the thermostatic model were used for predictions and simulations of rather complex and varying shapes of sleep cycles during an all-night sleep episode. To further test the proposed model, experiments on mammal species with monophasic sleep are required. If supported, this model can provide a valuable framework for understanding the involvement of sleep-wake regulatory processes in the mechanism of thermostatic brain cooling/warming. Full article
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31 pages, 5184 KiB  
Article
The Wave Model of Sleep Dynamics and an Invariant Relationship between NonREM and REM Sleep
by Vasili Kharchenko and Irina V. Zhdanova
Clocks & Sleep 2023, 5(4), 686-716; https://doi.org/10.3390/clockssleep5040046 - 17 Nov 2023
Viewed by 1545
Abstract
Explaining the complex structure and dynamics of sleep, which consist of alternating and physiologically distinct nonREM and REM sleep episodes, has posed a significant challenge. In this study, we demonstrate that a single wave model concept captures the distinctly different overnight dynamics of [...] Read more.
Explaining the complex structure and dynamics of sleep, which consist of alternating and physiologically distinct nonREM and REM sleep episodes, has posed a significant challenge. In this study, we demonstrate that a single wave model concept captures the distinctly different overnight dynamics of the four primary sleep measures—the duration and intensity of nonREM and REM sleep episodes—with high quantitative precision for both regular and extended sleep. The model also accurately predicts how these polysomnographic measures respond to sleep deprivation or abundance. Furthermore, the model passes the ultimate test, as its prediction leads to a novel experimental finding—an invariant relationship between the duration of nonREM episodes and the intensity of REM episodes, the product of which remains constant over consecutive sleep cycles. These results suggest a functional unity between nonREM and REM sleep, establishing a comprehensive and quantitative framework for understanding normal sleep and sleep disorders. Full article
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