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We draw on concepts, tools, and results, from a diversity of fields, including economics, ecology, physiology, and computational biology. And we use these to build computational models of reward and homeostasis. One major result of this approach is the discovery that economic phenomena can be derived from known statistical features of homeostasis, thus providing a unifying and evolutionarily grounded theory of simple homeostatic decision making.

From these models we can derive falsifiable predictions for behavioral, physiological, and neural responses. News We have received DKK 5. The project is to study the neural mechanisms of satiety, focusing on how interoceptive and oro-sensory prediction errors encoded within hypothalamus are predictive of next-meal energy consumption. The technique is to be finessed for use as an industrial scale metric for satiety optimisation in food design. Online academic lectures — There are many excellent online lectures sites, here a just a few; TheEdge is good for conversation-based talks and interviews; generally Coursera is excellent for online courses, as are some of the university specific sites Stanford , Yale , MIT , Harvard , Sante Fe Institute ; and other sites such as TalksAtGoogle.

Until certain copyright issues are fixed, our own internal lecture videos are available only on the internal DRCMR wiki. Also look on Coursera.

Homeostasis (article) | Human body systems | Khan Academy

Book recommendations Here are some of the labs members favorite books and why:. Foundations of Neuroeconomic Analysis — the first, hopefully not the last, great book of neuroeconomics. A brave polemic on the consilience between psychology, economics and neuroscience in providing a compact explanatory account of decision making. The Master and His Emissary — a heroic, mind-blowingly erudite synthesis of a brain-lateralisation theory, and its projection onto the history of western civilisation.

The best case yet for the fundamental powers of bridging art, science, philosophy and humanities to answer the deepest of human questions. Principles of Neural Design — In a discipline bogged down by ever more precise descriptions, this book takes the approach of how the brain should work, and by which principles and constraints. It offers a powerful explanatory account of what problems the brain faces, and how the constraints of these problems provide important insights into the biological design and function of neural systems.

The most brilliantly argued case for the reach and scope of evolutionary theory. Understanding Psychology as a Science — Better than any statistics or psychology textbook. In fact it is a treatise on philosophy of science, providing a very accessible introduction to Popper, and his relevance to modern statistics, and experimental design, both in psychology but also far beyond.


  1. Mission Homeostasis 9780595405312 by Jehan Mirzaei Book.
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Logic of Scientific Discovery — Outstanding philosophy of science, still as relevant today as its ever been. Not an easy read but worth the effort. The Mating Mind — What Dennett does for survivalist perspectives on evolutionary theory, Miller does for sexual selection.

Will profoundly change your perspective on evolution. The Vital Question — A brilliant theory of life, the first I have read that gives me confidence we might one day crack the problem. It places energy as the central organising principle of the diversity and complexity of life. It eschews the mundanity of style as being a set of rules, and places it as a philosophical stance.

They champion the style of classic style, and argue convincingly for its merits in many domains, and how to write it. The best way to improve your scientific writing. An Introduction to Physiological Economics.

Key points

Extending Models of How Foraging Works: Uncertainty, Controllability, and Survivability. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Fairness, fast and slow: A review of dual process models of fairness. Maintaining homeostasis at each level is key to maintaining the body's overall function. So, how is homeostasis maintained? Let's answer this question by looking at some examples. Biological systems like those of your body are constantly being pushed away from their balance points.

For instance, when you exercise, your muscles increase heat production, nudging your body temperature upward. Similarly, when you drink a glass of fruit juice, your blood glucose goes up. Homeostasis depends on the ability of your body to detect and oppose these changes.

Homeostasis

Maintenance of homeostasis usually involves negative feedback loops. These loops act to oppose the stimulus , or cue, that triggers them. For example, if your body temperature is too high, a negative feedback loop will act to bring it back down towards the set point , or target value, of 9 8. How does this work? First, high temperature will be detected by sensors —primarily nerve cells with endings in your skin and brain—and relayed to a temperature-regulatory control center in your brain.

The control center will process the information and activate effectors —such as the sweat glands—whose job is to oppose the stimulus by bringing body temperature down. A stimulus, sensor, control, and effector. The stimulus is when the body temperature exceeds 37 degrees Celsius, the sensors are the nerve cells with endings in the skin and brain, the control is the temperature regulatory center in the brain, and the effector is the sweat glands throughout the body.

Of course, body temperature doesn't just swing above its target value—it can also drop below this value. In general, homeostatic circuits usually involve at least two negative feedback loops:. One is activated when a parameter—like body temperature—is above the set point and is designed to bring it back down. One is activated when the parameter is below the set point and is designed to bring it back up. To make this idea more concrete, let's take a closer look at the opposing feedback loops that control body temperature. Homeostatic responses in temperature regulation.

If you get either too hot or too cold, sensors in the periphery and the brain tell the temperature regulation center of your brain—in a region called the hypothalamus—that your temperature has strayed from its set point. Blood flow to your skin increases to speed up heat loss into your surroundings, and you might also start sweating so the evaporation of sweat from your skin can help you cool off. Heavy breathing can also increase heat loss. Image showing temperature regulation in response to signals from the nervous system.

When the body temperature falls, the blood vessels constrict, sweat glands don't produce sweat, and shivering generates heat to warm the body.

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This causes heat to be retained the the body temperature to return to normal. When the body temperature is too high, the blood vessels dilate, sweat glands secrete fluid, and heat is lost from the body. As heat is lost to the environment, the body temperature returns to normal. The blood flow to your skin decreases, and you might start shivering so that your muscles generate more heat.

You may also get goose bumps—so that the hair on your body stands on end and traps a layer of air near your skin—and increase the release of hormones that act to increase heat production. Can homeostatic responses affect behavior? For instance, if your body gets too hot, you may feel like lying around without moving—which will minimize your production of heat—and you may lose your appetite. On the other hand, if you get too cold, you might get hungry—so that you eat more—and feel like moving around, both of which will increase heat production.

Notably, the set point is not always rigidly fixed and may be a moving target. For instance, body temperature varies over a hour period, from highest in the late afternoon to lowest in the early morning. Disruptions to feedback disrupt homeostasis. Homeostasis depends on negative feedback loops. So, anything that interferes with the feedback mechanisms can—and usually will! In the case of the human body, this may lead to disease. Diabetes , for example, is a disease caused by a broken feedback loop involving the hormone insulin.

The broken feedback loop makes it difficult or impossible for the body to bring high blood sugar down to a healthy level. To appreciate how diabetes occurs, let's take a quick look at the basics of blood sugar regulation.


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  • In a healthy person, blood sugar levels are controlled by two hormones: Insulin decreases the concentration of glucose in the blood. Insulin acts as a signal that triggers cells of the body, such as fat and muscle cells, to take up glucose for use as fuel. Insulin also causes glucose to be converted into glycogen—a storage molecule—in the liver.

    Both processes pull sugar out of the blood, bringing blood sugar levels down, reducing insulin secretion, and returning the whole system to homeostasis. If blood glucose concentration rises above the normal range, insulin is released, which stimulates body cells to remove glucose from the blood. If blood glucose concentration drops below this range, glucagon is released, which stimulates body cells to release glucose into the blood. Glucagon does the opposite: Glucagon acts on the liver, causing glycogen to be broken down into glucose and released into the bloodstream, causing blood sugar levels to go back up.

    This reduces glucagon secretion and brings the system back to homeostasis. Diabetes happens when a person's pancreas can't make enough insulin, or when cells in the body stop responding to insulin, or both.