DYNAMIC-MODEL OF HORMONAL SYSTEMS COUPLED BY NEGATIVE FEEDBACK

Most hormone concentrations in the body are regulated by negative feed back mechanisms in which the production and release of hormones are re gulated according to the concentration of related species. Also, it ha s been observed that several hormones are released in a variety of pul satile patterns. In most cases, the mechanism driving these complex pa tterns is not well understood. Our model of two cells coupled through negative feedback to their external products demonstrates periodic, ap eriodic and chaotic oscillations. The coupling between the cells seems to be responsible for these dynamic behaviors. The variety of dynamic behaviors observed in the model demonstrates that a simple physiologi cal feedback loop mimicking the coupling between circulatory hormones and production centers could be the source of complex hormone release patterns observed in vivo. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights r eserved.