Forum
Launched in 2022, Dynamics Club is a UCLA-based forum for junior scientists to discuss nonlinear dynamics in biology and physiology. Starting from 2024, this is also the home for the UCLA-BRI Interoception Dynamics Affinity Group.
Our monthly seminars are mostly on Zoom, with hybrid access to in-person events. Campus visits are made possible by the Brain Research Institute (BRI), Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology (IBP), and Institute for Quantitative and Computational Biosciences (QCBio).
Currently, we have 338 members. If you’re new, sign up here!
Job opportunities:
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Sahib Khalsa at UCLA (Details)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Natalie Porat-Shliom at NIH/NCI (Details)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Eder Zavala at the University of Manchester (Details)
- A postdoctoral position is available with Dr. Paul François at Université de Montréal (Details)
Key References (PDFs are available online):
Modeling Life by Alan Garfinkel, Jane Shetsov and Yina Guo (Teaching Materials)
Understanding Data by Alan Garfinkel and Yina Guo
Dynamics Club in October:
Sleep deprivation and intensity on cerebral vasomotion and cardiorespiratory brain pulsations
Speaker: Sara M. Ulv Larsen, MD, PhD (Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Copenhagen)
Date and Time: October 15 (Thursday) at 12pm Pacific Time / 3pm Eastern Time / 9pm Central European Time
Virtual Event on Zoom (Meeting ID: 998 3722 9722; Passcode: 248222)
Abstract:
The flow of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) through the brain is driven by cerebral vasomotion, along with respiratory and cardiac forces. Growing evidence suggests that sleep facilitates this flow, yet the role of homeostatic sleep mechanisms remains largely unknown. In a circadian-controlled sleep and sleep deprivation study in humans, we used accelerated neuroimaging to investigate how sleep pressure and slow-wave-rich sleep affect low-frequency brain pulsations (LFPs; 0.012-0.034 Hz) as well as brain pulsations originating from the respiratory and cardiac cycles. These pulsations cause movement of CSF and brain tissue which may facilitate waste clearance. We also examined the origin of LFPs through pharmacological vasodilation of the cerebral vasculature with the adrenergic antagonist carvedilol in a randomized, cross-over, double-blinded, placebo-controlled design (NCT03576664). We find that sleep deprivation increases LFPs more than nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep does, with LFPs during sleep correlating with cognitive measures of sleep pressure. Conversely, NREM sleep (combined stages N2 and N3) enhances brain pulsations driven by the respiration and cardiac cycles, with more pronounced effects in gray and white matter than in the ventricles. The strength of these brain pulsations escalates with sleep depth (N3 > N2) and correlates with EEG delta power, a measure of slow wave activity. Moreover, carvedilol dampens LFPs, supporting that these reflect cerebral vasomotion. In summary, our findings indicate that heightened sleep pressure promotes vasomotion, whereas slow-wave-rich sleep amplifies respiration- and cardiac-driven brain pulsations, possibly indicating increased CSF flow to the brain. Together, this suggests that homeostatic sleep mechanisms are integral to human brain fluid dynamics and potentially also waste clearance.
Scheduled Sessions:
| Date | Topic | Speaker(s) |
| Nov 4 | Deciphering circadian timekeeping in the brainstem satiety centre | Dr. Lukasz Chrobok (University of Bristol) |
| 2026 | Neurophysiological principles of reward | Dr. Annie Park (Oxford University) |
| 2027 | Cholinergic regulation of osteocyte mechanobiology | Dr. Karl J. Lewis (Cornell University) |
Past Events in 2026:
| Date | Topic | Speaker(s) | Materials |
| Jan 20 | Microdomain Metabolism in Pacemaker Myocytes: The Ca2+ Clock Drives the ATP Clock | Manuel Munoz Camus, PhD (UC Davis) | Pubmed |
| Feb 13 | Pulsed stimuli enable p53 phase resetting to synchronize single cells and modulate cell fate | Harish Venkatachalapathy, PhD (UMN) | Pubmed |
| Mar 6 | Pulsed stimuli enable p53 phase resetting to synchronize single cells and modulate cell fate | Richard Gast, PhD (Scripps Research) | Pubmed |
| Apr 10 | LNE Seminar: Leveraging small but persistent differences for detection in human health | Benjamin Smarr, PhD (UCSD) | Pubmed |
| Jun 25 | Epinephrine oscillation enhances the alertness of target cells to stress | Mark Greenwood, PhD (Whitehead Institute) | |
| Aug 26 | Immunometabolism in the brain: How brain-resident macrophages regulate tissue homeostasis | Drew Adler, PhD (NYU) | Pubmed |
| Sep 9 | Capturing spatiotemporal organization of tissue-wide Ca2+ activity in skin vasculature | Anush Swaminathan, PhD (Yale University) | Pubmed |
| Sep 24 | Pericyte KATP channel hyperactivity redistributes cortical blood flow | Danielle A. Jeffrey, PhD (CU Anschutz) | Pubmed |
Past Events in 2025
Past Events in 2024
Past Events in 2023
Past Events in 2022