Chaos in biology.
This paper presents a brief and pedagogical account of the relevance of chaos theory in biology. A few caveats to avoid misleading interpretations are underlined, for instance the required determinism and consistency of the experimental time series. The selective advantage offered by a properly controlled chaotic dynamics is discussed on the examples of cardiac rhythm and brain dynamics.
A Lesne
Annick
A
Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, Le Bois-Marie, 35 route de Chartres, 91440, Bures-sur-Yvette, France.
D000818:Animals; D001695:Biology; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D006321:Heart / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008955:Models, Cardiovascular; D008959:Models, Neurological; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics; D010297:Paris; D013269:Stochastic Processes