Implementation of Hebb's rules in a network of excitable chemical cells coupled by pulses.

A network of four excitable cells with the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction is considered both theoretically and experimentally. All cells are coupled by pulses with time delays τnj between the moment of a spike in cell #n and the moment of the corresponding perturbation of an addressee (cell #j). The coupling strengths of all connections except the coupling strength C12 between cells #1 and #2 are constant. Cell #1 is periodically perturbed (with period Tex) and sends pulses to cell #2. The value of C12 is controlled by pulses from two other cells (with indexes #5 and #6; cells with indexes #3 and #4 are absent in the considered network), provided the pulses from cell #5 increase C12, while the pulses from cell #6 decrease C12. Cells #5 and #6 are mutually coupled by inhibitory pulses. Depending on the relations between the values of τnj, there are three dynamic modes in the network: (i) the coupling strength C12 increases stepwise, which is the "Hebb mode", (ii) the C12 decreases stepwise, which is the "anti-Hebb mode", and (iii) the C12 remains almost unchanged within some small adjustable range, which is the meander mode. The ability to tune the C12via "Hebb" and "anti-Hebb" modes introduces memory in the chemical network and, consequently, a mechanism of learning can be realized. The theoretical network is implemented experimentally using four microcells with the BZ reaction provided the pulse coupling between microcells is realized using optical links.

Experimental verification of an opto-chemical "neurocomputer".

A theoretically predicted hierarchical network of pulse coupled chemical micro-oscillators and excitable micro-cells that we call a chemical "neurocomputer" (CN) or even a chemical "brain" is tested experimentally using the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction. The CN consists of five functional units: (1) a central pattern generator (CPG), (2) an antenna, (3) a reader for the CPG, (4) a reader for the antenna unit, and (5) a decision making (DM) unit. A hybrid CN, in which such chemical units as readers and DM units are replaced by electronic units, is tested as well. All these variations of the CN respond intelligently to external signals, since they perform an automatic transition from a current to a new dynamic mode of the CPG, which is similar to the antenna dynamic mode that in turn is induced by external signals. In other words, we show for the first time that a network of pulse coupled chemical micro-oscillators is capable of intelligent adaptive behavior.

Experimental Investigation of the Dynamical Modes of Four Pulse-Coupled Chemical Micro-Oscillators.

We present an experimental system of four identical microreactors (MRs) in which the photosensitive oscillatory Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction occurs. The inhibitory coupling of these BZ MRs is organized via pulses of light coming to each MR from a computer projector. These pulses are induced by spike(s) in other MR(s) of the same network. Time delay between the spike in one BZ MR and the pulsed perturbation of the other BZ MR(s), the amplitude of light pulses, their duration, and the connectivity of the MRs are controlled by the LabVIEW software. Recording the dynamics of the BZ reaction in the MRs via a microscope equipped with a CCD camera, we observe all the main dynamical modes of our network of MRs, which are the IP (in-phase), AP (anti-phase), W (walk), and WR (walk reverse) for the unidirectional coupling, and the IP, two-cluster, three-cluster, and splay modes for the all-to-all coupling. Our software detects all the modes of the network automatically and makes it possible to switch between them on demand using a few special "switching" pulses. As the result of the present work, the experimental implementation of the adaptive behaviour of the pulse-coupled chemical micro-oscillator networks becomes available.

Controllable switching between stable modes in a small network of pulse-coupled chemical oscillators.

Switching between stable oscillatory modes in a network of four Belousov-Zhabotinsky oscillators coupled in a ring via unidirectional inhibitory pulsatile coupling with a time delay is analysed computationally and experimentally. There are five stable modes in this network: in-phase, anti-phase, walk, walk reverse, and three-cluster modes. Transitions between the modes are carried out by short external pulses applied to one or several oscillators. We consider three types of switching between the modes: (i) forced switching, when the phases of oscillators of an initial mode reset in such a way that they correspond to the phases of the final mode; internal pulses of the network play no role in this resetting; (ii) "specific" switching, when the phase of only one oscillator is changed by an external perturbation which induces a chain of phase changes in other oscillators due to internal coupling between oscillators; and (iii) multistep switching through intermediate modes, which can be either stable or unstable attractors. All these types of switching have been found in simulations and verified in laboratory experiments.

Dynamics of a 1D array of inhibitory coupled chemical oscillators in microdroplets with global negative feedback.

We have investigated the effect of global negative feedback (GNF) on the dynamics of a 1D array of water microdroplets (MDs) filled with the reagents of the photosensitive oscillatory Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction. GNF is established by homogeneous illumination of the 1D array with the light intensity proportional to the number of BZ droplets in the oxidized state with the coefficient of proportionality ge. MDs are immersed in the continuous oil phase and diffusively coupled with the neighboring droplets via inhibitor Br2 which is soluble in the oil phase. At chosen concentrations of the BZ reactants, illumination suppresses the BZ oscillators. Without GNF, or at a very small ge < 0.29, local inhibitory coupling leads to out-of-phase oscillations of the neighboring BZ droplets with an almost constant phase shift Δφ between them, which makes a space-time plot of the BZ MDs look like a staircase. At 0.3 < ge < 0.6, regular oscillatory clusters consisting of distant BZ MDs (mostly 5-6 phase clusters) emerge. At 0.6 ≤ ge ≤ 1.0, chaotic clusters are observed. At 1.2 < ge < 1.8, regular (mostly 3-4-phase) clusters emerge again. At 1.8 < ge < (3-4), complex clusters with different (but multiple) periods of oscillation are observed. At the same time, some droplets stop oscillating. At large enough ge (>4), in the region of two-phase clusters (with several suppressed BZ MDs), final patterns seem to resemble the initial patterns. Intensive computer simulations with the ordinary differential equations support experimental results.

New type of excitatory pulse coupling of chemical oscillators via inhibitor.

We introduce a new type of pulse coupling between chemical oscillators. A constant inflow of inhibitor in one reactor is interrupted shortly after a time delay after a sharp spike of activity in the other reactor. We proved experimentally and theoretically that this reversed inhibitory coupling is analogous to excitatory coupling. We did this by analyzing phase response curves, dependences of different synchronous regimes of the 1 : 1 resonance on time delay, and other resonances of two coupled chemical oscillators. Dynamical rhythms of two Belousov-Zhabotinsky oscillators coupled via "negative" inhibitory pulses were investigated.

Inhibitory and excitatory pulse coupling of two frequency-different chemical oscillators with time delay.

Dynamical regimes of two pulse coupled non-identical Belousov-Zhabotinsky oscillators have been studied experimentally as well as theoretically with the aid of ordinary differential equations and phase response curves both for pure inhibitory and pure excitatory coupling. Time delay τ between a spike in one oscillator and perturbing pulse in the other oscillator plays a significant role for the phase relations of synchronous regimes of the 1:1 and 1:2 resonances. Birhythmicity between anti-phase and in-phase oscillations for inhibitory pulse coupling as well as between 1:2 and 1:1 resonances for excitatory pulse coupling have also been found. Depending on the ratio of native periods of oscillations T2/T1, coupling strength, and time delay τ, such resonances as 1:1 (with different phase locking), 2:3, 1:2, 2:5, 1:3, 1:4, as well as complex oscillations and oscillatory death are observed.