Immune networks: multitasking capabilities near saturation

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• Dr Alessia Annibale, King's London
• Thursday 10 October 2013, 13:45-15:00
• Theory Library.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Kevin Ralley.

Pattern-diluted associative networks were introduced recently as models for the immune system, with nodes representing T-lymphocytes and stored patterns representing signalling protocols between T- and B-lymphocytes. We study this model in the extensive load regime NB = αNT, and for a high degree of pattern dilution, in agreement with immunological findings. We use graph theory and statistical mechanical analysis based on replica methods to show that in the finite-connectivity regime, where each T-lymphocyte interacts with a finite number of B-lymphocytes as NT → ∞, the T-lymphocytes can coordinate effective immune responses to an extensive number of distinct antigen invasions in parallel. As α increases, the system eventually undergoes a second order transition to a phase with clonal cross-talk interference, where the system’s performance degrades gracefully.

This talk is part of the Theoretical Physics Seminars series.

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