A. Takamatsu et al., FREQUENCY COUPLING MODEL FOR DYNAMICS OF RESPONSES TO STIMULI IN PLASMODIUM OF PHYSARUM-POLYCEPHALUM, Journal of the Physical Society of Japan, 66(6), 1997, pp. 1638-1646
Gathering or escaping behavior in the plasmodium of Physarum polycepha
lum is considered to relate to an entrainment of the coupled nonlinear
oscillators. The behavior has been explained to be caused by the form
ation of phase gradient between those oscillators, which results from
the local frequency modulation at the stimulated site. However, it has
not yet been elucidated how the formation process relates to the migr
ation of the plasmodium. In this paper, we have introduced a model wit
h frequency coupling besides the phase coupling in the system of coupl
ed oscillators. By the simulation, we have shown that not only the pha
se gradient but also the concentration gradient of substances such as
Ca2+ and ATP are self-organized and their reverse by the stimulus resu
lts in the migration of plasmodium.