Thermodynamics 2.0 Program: Sessions and Abstracts
Mon - Wed, June 22 - June 24 , 2020 , Massachusetts, USA
Session T05: Complex System
15:15-15:55. Monday June 22, 2020
Chair: Shabnam Mousavi
Title: Functional Interdependence in Coupled Dissipative Structures: Physical Foundations of Biological Coordination
Presenter:
- Benjamin De Bari
(Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action, Storrs, CT, U.S.A. )
Bio-sketch
I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. I study Perception-Action from an Ecological perspective. I am interested in applying the tools of physical self-organization to biological behavior, in particular by studying the behaviors of dissipative structures.
Author(s):
- Benjamin De Bari
(Center for the Ecological Study of Perception and Action, Storrs, CT, U.S.A. )
Abstract:T05.W146
Abstract
Biological behavior requires the dynamic and adaptive coordination of many degrees of freedom, within and between organisms. This coordination may be attributed to the self-organization of physiological degrees of freedom into assemblies called coordinative structures. Coordinative structures are contextually flexible and functionally-specific, allowing for stable performance in the face of perturbations. As an example, consider the body-wide adjustments made when we misstep while walking – distal physiological components alter their activity to maintain system stability. This phenomenon is known as reciprocal compensation. Reciprocal compensation can be demonstrated in a non-living self-organized system, a dissipative structure. We present evidence for this adaptive flexibility in an electrical dissipative structure, and motivate a shared physics underwriting the coordination of both living and non-living self-organizing systems.
Keywords: Coordinative structures, reciprocal compensation, dissipative structure