Cooperative mechanism of self-regulation in hierarchical living systems

Abstract

We study the problem of how a ``living'' system complex in structure can respond perfectly to local changes in the environment. Such a system is assumed to consist of a distributed ``living'' medium and a hierarchical ``supplying'' network that provides this medium with ``nutritious'' products. Because of the hierarchical organization each element of the supplying network has to behave in a self-consistent way for the system can adapt to changes in the environment. We propose a cooperative mechanism of self-regulation by which the system as a whole can react perfectly. This mechanism is based on an individual response of each element to the corresponding small piece of the information on the state of the ``living'' medium. The conservation of flux through the supplying network gives rise to a certain processing of information and the self-consistent behavior of the elements, leading to the perfect self-regulation. The corresponding equations governing the ``living'' medium state are obtained.