Patterning, From Conifers to Consciousness: Turing’s Theory and Order From Fluctuations
This is a brief account of Turing’s ideas on biological pattern and the events that led to their wider acceptance by biologists as a valid way to investigate developmental pattern, and of the value of theory more generally in biology. Periodic patterns have played a key role in this process, especia...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-05-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2022.871950/full |
| _version_ | 1811292115936739328 |
|---|---|
| author | Thurston C. Lacalli |
| author_facet | Thurston C. Lacalli |
| author_sort | Thurston C. Lacalli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This is a brief account of Turing’s ideas on biological pattern and the events that led to their wider acceptance by biologists as a valid way to investigate developmental pattern, and of the value of theory more generally in biology. Periodic patterns have played a key role in this process, especially 2D arrays of oriented stripes, which proved a disappointment in theoretical terms in the case of Drosophila segmentation, but a boost to theory as applied to skin patterns in fish and model chemical reactions. The concept of “order from fluctuations” is a key component of Turing’s theory, wherein pattern arises by selective amplification of spatial components concealed in the random disorder of molecular and/or cellular processes. For biological examples, a crucial point from an analytical standpoint is knowing the nature of the fluctuations, where the amplifier resides, and the timescale over which selective amplification occurs. The answer clarifies the difference between “inelegant” examples such as Drosophila segmentation, which is perhaps better understood as a programmatic assembly process, and “elegant” ones expressible in equations like Turing’s: that the fluctuations and selection process occur predominantly in evolutionary time for the former, but in real time for the latter, and likewise for error suppression, which for Drosophila is historical, in being lodged firmly in past evolutionary events. The prospects for a further extension of Turing’s ideas to the complexities of brain development and consciousness is discussed, where a case can be made that it could well be in neuroscience that his ideas find their most important application. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T04:40:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-447f79c6917f40e2909b28c047c43d12 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-634X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T04:40:27Z |
| publishDate | 2022-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-447f79c6917f40e2909b28c047c43d122022-12-22T03:02:00ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology2296-634X2022-05-011010.3389/fcell.2022.871950871950Patterning, From Conifers to Consciousness: Turing’s Theory and Order From FluctuationsThurston C. LacalliThis is a brief account of Turing’s ideas on biological pattern and the events that led to their wider acceptance by biologists as a valid way to investigate developmental pattern, and of the value of theory more generally in biology. Periodic patterns have played a key role in this process, especially 2D arrays of oriented stripes, which proved a disappointment in theoretical terms in the case of Drosophila segmentation, but a boost to theory as applied to skin patterns in fish and model chemical reactions. The concept of “order from fluctuations” is a key component of Turing’s theory, wherein pattern arises by selective amplification of spatial components concealed in the random disorder of molecular and/or cellular processes. For biological examples, a crucial point from an analytical standpoint is knowing the nature of the fluctuations, where the amplifier resides, and the timescale over which selective amplification occurs. The answer clarifies the difference between “inelegant” examples such as Drosophila segmentation, which is perhaps better understood as a programmatic assembly process, and “elegant” ones expressible in equations like Turing’s: that the fluctuations and selection process occur predominantly in evolutionary time for the former, but in real time for the latter, and likewise for error suppression, which for Drosophila is historical, in being lodged firmly in past evolutionary events. The prospects for a further extension of Turing’s ideas to the complexities of brain development and consciousness is discussed, where a case can be made that it could well be in neuroscience that his ideas find their most important application.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2022.871950/fullpattern formationreaction-diffusion theoryirreversible processesneurocircuit assemblyerror suppression in evolution and development |
| spellingShingle | Thurston C. Lacalli Patterning, From Conifers to Consciousness: Turing’s Theory and Order From Fluctuations Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology pattern formation reaction-diffusion theory irreversible processes neurocircuit assembly error suppression in evolution and development |
| title | Patterning, From Conifers to Consciousness: Turing’s Theory and Order From Fluctuations |
| title_full | Patterning, From Conifers to Consciousness: Turing’s Theory and Order From Fluctuations |
| title_fullStr | Patterning, From Conifers to Consciousness: Turing’s Theory and Order From Fluctuations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Patterning, From Conifers to Consciousness: Turing’s Theory and Order From Fluctuations |
| title_short | Patterning, From Conifers to Consciousness: Turing’s Theory and Order From Fluctuations |
| title_sort | patterning from conifers to consciousness turing s theory and order from fluctuations |
| topic | pattern formation reaction-diffusion theory irreversible processes neurocircuit assembly error suppression in evolution and development |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcell.2022.871950/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT thurstonclacalli patterningfromconiferstoconsciousnessturingstheoryandorderfromfluctuations |