[This is the old program from WS 2007/08. The current program and contact information can be found here.]

05 October 2007, 16:00

Atsushi Tero (Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan)
Traffic-adaptive networking by a real amoebae of Physarum [Abstract] 

Toshiyuki Nakagaki (Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan)
Amoebae anticipate periodic events  

Abstract:
Single-celled organisms might be cleverer than previously thought. Anticipating events are higher functions performed by the brains of higher animals; their evolutionary origins and the way they self-organize, however, remain open questions. Here we show that an amoeboid organism can anticipate the timing of periodic events. The plasmodium of the true slime mold Physarum polycephalum moves rapidly under favourable conditions, but stops moving when transferred to less-favourable conditions. Plasmodia exposed to unfavourable (low-temperature and low-humidity) conditions, presented in three consecutive pulses at constant intervals, reduced their locomotive speed in response to each episode. When subsequently subjected to favourable conditions, the plasmodia spontaneously reduced their locomotive speed at the time point when the next unfavourable episode would have occurred. This implied anticipation of impending environmental change. After this behaviour had been evoked several times, the locomotion of the plasmodia returned to normal. We explored the mechanisms underlying these behaviours from a dynamical systems perspective. Our results hint at the cellular origins of primitive intelligence and imply that simple dynamics might be sufficient to explain its emergence.

12 October 2007, 16:00

Takao Ohta (Department of Physics, Kyoto University, Japan)
Turing patterns in three dimensions [Abstract] 

02 November 2007, 16:00

Karsten Kruse (Theoretische Physik, Universität des Saarlandes)
Active behavior of the cytoskeleton [Abstract] 

09 November 2007, 16:00 Haber-Villa

Peter Tass (Institut für Neurowissenschaften und Biophysik, Forschungszentrum Jülich)
Model based development of desynchronizing brain stimulation techniques [Abstract] 

30 November 2007, 16:00

Pablo Kaluza (Fritz-Haber-Institut der MPG)
Evolutionary design of complex functional networks [Abstract] 

14 December 2007, 16:00 Haber-Villa

Hans-Günther Döbereiner (Institut für Biophysik, Universität Bremen)
Dynamic Phase Transitions and Collective Modes in Cell Spreading [Abstract] 

18 January 2008, 16:00

Hiroya Nakao (Fritz-Haber-Institut der Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Berlin)
Phase coherence in an ensemble of uncoupled nonlinear oscillators induced by correlated noise [Abstract] 

08 February 2008, 16:00

Stefan Luther (Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation, Göttingen)
Noninvasive adaptive multisite pacing of the heart [Abstract] 

22 February 2008, 16:00

Wolffram Schröer (Institut für Anorganische und Physikalische Chemie, Universität Bremen)
Criticality and corresponding states in ionic systems [Abstract]