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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik

DY 14: Focus Session: Nonlinear Dynamics in Biological Systems I (joint session DY/BP)

DY 14.1: Hauptvortrag

Dienstag, 18. März 2025, 09:30–10:00, H43

Robust signal amplification and information integration via self-tuned proximity to bifurcation points — •Isabella Graf — Developmental Biology Unit & Theory Transversal Theme, EMBL Heidelberg, Germany

Many living systems demonstrate exquisite sensitivity to small input signals. A tempting hypothesis is that these systems operate close to bifurcation or critical points, where the system's response exhibits a diverging susceptibility to the control parameter and small signals are amplified into a large collective response. A common concern, however, is that proximity to such points requires fine-tuning of parameters, which seems impossible for noisy biological systems. Based on several distinct sensory systems, we have investigated a feedback motif that robustly maintains these systems close to their respective bifurcation point. The key ingredient is that the collective response feeds back onto the control parameter. To illustrate this idea, I will mention several examples ranging from snake thermosensing to mammalian hearing and discuss the functional benefits associated with being near-critical.

Keywords: bifurcations and critical points; feedback and self-organization; signal amplification; non-linear dynamics; information theory