Frontiers in Integrative Physiology

Frontiers in Integrative Physiology is a Specialty Section of Frontiers in Physiology devoted to encompassing the broader aspects of physiology that involve the integration of mechanisms and regulatory functions at all biological levels ranging from the molecular, cellular, tissue and organs to clinical studies. The genomic revolution has opened up exciting new areas of discovery, but the challenge for physiologists has been to incorporate this new information into an expanding, thus more complicated, view of physiological systems. The narrowing of focus required to extract the nuances of biological function – today, and more so in the future – and will require avenues to bring together and "integrate" this information into known physiological processes and regulatory systems. Therefore, Frontiers in Integrative Physiology encourages submissions that bring new insights into physiological processes and regulatory systems as well as their perturbation during pathological processes. Papers that encompass multidisciplinary approaches and techniques that focus on mechanisms and regulatory functions are encouraged. How regulatory and homeostatic systems are altered in transgenic animals is of particular priority. Topics of interest include neurohumoral control of the circulation, hemodynamics, heart function and heart failure; circadian rhythms, clocks and cycles; regulation during sleep, awake and stressful states; temperature control; thirst and fluid volume homoeostasis; appetite, energy balance and obesity.