Elsevier

Physics Letters A

Volume 123, Issue 8, 31 August 1987, Pages 390-394
Physics Letters A

Nonequilibrium phase transitions in coordinated biological motion: Critical slowing down and switching time

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Abstract

In new experiments on coordinated biological motion we measure relaxation times and switching times as the system evolves from one coordinated state to another at a critical control parameter value. Deviations from the coordinated state are induced by mechanical perturbations and relative phase is used as an order parameter to monitor the dynamics of the collective state. Clear evidence for critical slowing down, a key feature of nonequilibrium phase transitions, is found. The mean and distribution of switching times closely match predictions from a stochastic dynamic theory. Together with earlier results on critical fluctuations these findings strongly favor an interpretation of coordinative change in biological systems as a nonequilibrium phase transition.

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    In the literature, these attractors at in-phase and anti-phase are taken to represent the motor systems intrinsic dynamics (Schöner & Kelso, 1988). The model has been able to characterize the dynamics of bimanual coordination under frequency scaling (Kelso, 1984; Kelso et al., 1986), limb perturbations (Scholz et al., 1987), differences in limb frequencies (E. L. Amazeen, Sternad, & Turvey, 1996; Sternad, Collins, & Turvey, 1995), and intentionally switching between coordination patterns (Scholz & Kelso, 1990; Schoner & Kelso, 1988). The HKB model has been generalized to interpersonal coordination under frequency scaling (Schmidt et al., 1990), limb frequency differences (Schmidt & Turvey, 1994), and the emergence of spontaneous interpersonal 1:1 frequency and phase locking when vision is suddenly introduced into a dyad context (Kelso, de Guzman, Reveley, & Tognoli, 2009; Oullier et al., 2008; Richardson et al., 2007; Schmidt & O'Brien, 1997).

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Also at Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.

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To whom reprint requests should be addressed.

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