Metastability and functional integration in anisotropically coupled map lattices

Alexandre Pitti (1) , Max Lungarella (2) , Yasuo Kuniyoshi (3)

1 ISI laboratory - Laboratory for Intelligent Systems and Informatics, Department of Mechano-Informatics Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
2 UZH - Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich
3 ISI laboratory

Metastability is a property of systems composed of many interacting parts wherein the parts exhibit simultaneously a tendency to function autonomously (local segregation) and a tendency to cooperate (global integration). We study anisotropically coupled map lattices and discover that for specific values of the coupling control parameters the entire system transits to a metastable regime. We show that this regime manifests a quasi-stable state in which the system can flexibly switch to another such state. We briefly discuss the relevance of our findings for information processing, functional integration, metastability in the brain, and phase transitions in complex systems.

Mots clés: coupled map lattices; phase synchronization; metastability; functional integration

Domaines: Adaptation et Systèmes auto-organisés [nlin.AO]; Systèmes dynamiques [math.DS]; Complexité [cs.CC]; Physique mathématique [math-ph]; Physique mathématique [math-ph]

Alexandre Pitti, Max Lungarella, Yasuo Kuniyoshi. Metastability and functional integration in anisotropically coupled map lattices. The European Physical Journal B: Condensed Matter and Complex Systems, 2008, 63, pp.239-243. ⟨10.1140/epjb/e2008-00238-2⟩. ⟨hal-00656938⟩