2007/07/31 by Eduardo D. Sontag, Eduardo Sontag, Alan Veliz-Cuba +3 · 1 citation
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Biological network #Boolean function #Boolean network #Combinatorics #Computer science #Discrete mathematics #Dynamics (music) #Feedback loop #Gene Regulatory Network Analysis #Limit (mathematics) #Loop (graph theory) #Mathematical analysis #Mathematics #Negative feedback #Network dynamics #Physics #Positive feedback #Property (philosophy) #Protein Structure and Dynamics #Space (punctuation) #Topology (electrical circuits) #q-bio.MN #q-bio.QM #stochastic dynamics and bifurcation
paper · pdf · doi:10.1529/biophysj.107.125021
arxiv created 2007/11/20 · openalex publication_date 2008/03/29 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05
Feedback loops in a dynamic network play an important role in determining the dynamics of that network. Through a computational study, in this paper we show that networks with fewer independent negative feedback loops tend to exhibit more regular behavior than those with more negative loops. To be precise, we study the relationship between the number of independent feedback loops and the number and length of the limit cycles in the phase space of dynamic Boolean networks. We show that, as the number of independent negative feedback loops increases, the number (length) of limit cycles tends to decrease (increase). These conclusions are consistent with the fact, for certain natural biological networks, that they on the one hand exhibit generally regular behavior and on the other hand show less negative feedback loops than randomized networks with the same numbers of nodes and connectivity.