Temporal Hierarchies in the Regulation of Mammalian Fluid and Electrolyte Balance

Abstract

The hypothesis is put forth that fluid and electroylte regulation in mammals has oscillatory dynamics with several recognizeable frequencies. This view is supported by examples drawn from the physiology literature, covering a frequency spectrum from 1 Hz to 3 × 10−8 Hz. The persistence of these rhythms is used to support the theory that the system regulating fluid and electrolyte balance can be described as an ensemble of loosely coupled non-linear oscillators.