This single-author preprint examines how local phase relations among neighboring sarcomeres shape the mean amplitude of hyperthermal sarcomeric oscillations (HSOs) in living cardiomyocytes. By representing consecutive sarcomere time-series data as a local phase network, the study argues that HSOs are not merely unstructured local disorder, but a constrained dynamical reconfiguration coupled to synchrony.
Key Points
Reanalyzes sarcomere-length recordings from five consecutive sarcomeres in living neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.
Represents each valid time point by four neighboring-pair phase relations, forming a 16-state local phase network.
During warming-induced HSOs, the fraction of time with trackable local phase relations increases, enabling direct analysis of local reconfiguration.
Successive local states are almost always connected by one-step changes, indicating constrained transitions in neighboring-pair phase relations.
HSOs increase the occupancy of anti-phase-rich local states.
The HSO amplitude of the segment-average trace is well approximated by the product of local amplitude A and synchrony Rw.
Taken together, the results support the view that HSOs reflect a constrained neighboring-sarcomere phase topology rather than random local disorder.
Seine A. Shintani. Constrained neighboring-sarcomere phase topology shapes mean HSO amplitude in living cardiomyocytes. bioRxiv (Preprint, Version 1, 2026).
DOI: 10.64898/2026.03.13.711515
Keywords: Hyperthermal Sarcomeric Oscillations (HSOs), Cardiomyocyte, Neighboring-Sarcomere Phase Topology, Synchrony, Living Cell, Warming