Emergence of Active Inference from a Chemical Oscillator: A Constructive Approach to Pre-genetic Homeostasis

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Author: Ishida, Takeshi
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Ishida, Takeshi
author_facet Ishida, Takeshi
contents How could primordial life, before the evolution of genetic systems, adapt to fluctuating environments and achieve homeostasis? This study proposes a minimal, chemically plausible model where homeostasis emerges from a simple chemical reaction network. It utilizes an internal Lotka-Volterra chemical oscillator as a "search engine" to periodically vary a protocell's pigmentation. The system then optimizes its internal state by evaluating the temporal correlation between these internal fluctuations and a single global metric,the cell's self-replication rate, through a mechanism termed "antagonistic memory molecules." Numerical simulations demonstrate that the model can autonomously converge to and maintain the optimal temperature for its self-replication, even amidst significant environmental fluctuations. These findings provide a constructive proof-of-concept for how a core process of active inference can emerge from a simple physicochemical system, offering a concrete scenario for the acquisition of adaptive capabilities at the origin of life.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_06323
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Emergence of Active Inference from a Chemical Oscillator: A Constructive Approach to Pre-genetic Homeostasis
Ishida, Takeshi
Other Quantitative Biology
How could primordial life, before the evolution of genetic systems, adapt to fluctuating environments and achieve homeostasis? This study proposes a minimal, chemically plausible model where homeostasis emerges from a simple chemical reaction network. It utilizes an internal Lotka-Volterra chemical oscillator as a "search engine" to periodically vary a protocell's pigmentation. The system then optimizes its internal state by evaluating the temporal correlation between these internal fluctuations and a single global metric,the cell's self-replication rate, through a mechanism termed "antagonistic memory molecules." Numerical simulations demonstrate that the model can autonomously converge to and maintain the optimal temperature for its self-replication, even amidst significant environmental fluctuations. These findings provide a constructive proof-of-concept for how a core process of active inference can emerge from a simple physicochemical system, offering a concrete scenario for the acquisition of adaptive capabilities at the origin of life.
title Emergence of Active Inference from a Chemical Oscillator: A Constructive Approach to Pre-genetic Homeostasis
topic Other Quantitative Biology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.06323