Genetic regulatory networks and neural networks

Abstract

The discussion on the neural networks paradigm casted a bright light on the notion of network and on what we may define as the "dynamical systems approach". The rebounds of this emphasis involved, during the years, the most disparate scientific areas, such as biology, social sciences and artificial life, contributing to reinforce the foundations of the complex systems science. In this work we will discuss about a particular network model, i.e. random Boolean networks, which have been introduced to represent the gene regulatory mechanism, and we will comment on the similarities and the differences with the model of neural networks. Moreover, we will present the results of the analysis of the dynamical behaviour that random Boolean networks show in presence of different sets of updating function and discuss on the concepts of criticality and biological suitability of such a model. © 2009 IOS Press. All rights reserved.