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.