Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
15.12 Micro-Macro Coupling in the Human Body
The human body is arguably the most complex material system in the Universe
(besides the Universe Itself) in both its
structure
and
behavior
. The human body
consists of approximately 10
2
joints, 10
3
muscles, 10
3
cell types, and 10
14
neurons,
each with multiple connections to other neurons (Kelso 1995). In addition, the
motions of these components are not random but
coordinated
so that the body can
perform macroscopic tasks essential for its survival under prevailing environmental
conditions. The purpose of this section is to apply the theoretical principles and
concepts developed in this topic to elucidating the possible mechanisms underlying
the phenomenon of the micro-macro coupling we experience in
coordinated
motions
of our body.
Coordination dynamics
originated in the study of the
coordination
and
regula-
tion
of the movements of the human body (Bernstein 1967, Kelso 1995, Kelso and
Zanone 2002, Kelso and EngstrØm 2006, Kelso 2008, 2009) but its principles are
scale-free,
i.e.,
scale-independent,
and
universal
in that they apply to all material
systems at all levels, including microscopic and macroscopic levels, that have more
than one components interacting with one another to accomplish observable
functions, leading to the following definition:
Coordination dynamics is the study of the space-, time- and task-dependent interactions
among the components of a dynamic system. (15.21)
We may recognize three broad branches of coordination dynamics on the basis
of the distance scale over which coordination processes take place:
1.
Macroscopic Coordination Dynamics
(MacroCD)
the study of coordinated
motions of the components of a system at the macroscopic scale (e.g., coordi-
nated motions of left and right limbs, coordinated motions among the fingers of a
hand),
2.
Mesoscopic Coordination Dynamics
(MesoCD)
¼
the study of coordinated
motions of the components of a system at the mesoscopic scale (e.g., morpho-
genesis; see Sect.
15.1
), and
3.
Microscopic Coordination Dynamics
(MicroCD)
¼
the study of coordinated
motions of the components of a system at the molecular level (e.g., coordinated
motions of the ATP-binding and Ca
++
-binding domains of the Ca
++
ion pump;
¼
The human body movement depends on the successful coordination of all the
components of the body on these three distance scales. The physicochemical systems
embodying coordination dynamics at the three scales are distinct as schematically
shown in Fig.
15.16
. The theoretical concepts (
conformons
,
IDSs,
and
synergies
) that
have been invoked as the mechanisms enabling the coordination dynamics at the
three distance scales are indicted in Fig.
15.16
, along with the suggested names of the
associated dynamical systems (
RMWator
,
Bhopalator
, and
BocaRatonator
).
RMWator
and
BocaRatonator
are the two names used here for the first time, and
the rationale for coining them is given in the legend to Fig.
15.16
and in Footnotes 24
