Department of Mathematics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1980 Apr;77(4):2338-42. doi: 10.1073/pnas.77.4.2338.
Competition solves a universal problem about pattern processing by cellular systems. Competition allows cells to automatically retune their sensitivity to avoid noise and saturation effects. All competitive systems induce decision schemes that permit them to be classified. Systems are identified that achieve global pattern formation, or decision-making, no matter how their parameters are chosen. Oscillations can occur due to contradictions in a system's decision scheme. The pattern formation and oscillation results are extreme examples of a complementarity principle that seems to hold for competitive systems. Nonlinear competitive systems can sometimes appear, to a macroscopic observer, to have linear and cooperative properties, although the two types of systems are not equivalent. This observation is relevant to theories about the evolutionary transition from competitive to cooperative behavior.
竞争通过细胞系统解决了模式处理的一个普遍问题。竞争使细胞能够自动调整其灵敏度,以避免噪声和饱和效应。所有竞争系统都会产生决策方案,从而使它们能够进行分类。无论如何选择系统的参数,都可以识别出实现全局模式形成或决策的系统。由于系统决策方案中的矛盾,可能会发生振荡。模式形成和振荡的结果是互补原理的极端例子,似乎适用于竞争系统。对于宏观观察者来说,非线性竞争系统有时可能表现出线性和合作性质,尽管这两种系统并不等效。这一观察结果与关于从竞争到合作行为的进化转变的理论有关。