It is shown that an artificial excitable lipid membrane exhibits chaot
ic oscillations under periodic electrical stimulation. Effect of chemi
cal substances on the oscillatory dynamics was investigated. It was fo
und that the structure of attractor representing the state of the osci
llation changed considerably if the oscillation was chaotic. The possi
bility of the taste sensing and recognition system by using the chaoti
c dynamics is also discussed. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.