Transition probabilities for piecewise affine models of genetic networks

In the piecewise affine framework, trajectories evolve among hyperrectangles in the state space. A qualitative description of the dynamics - useful for models of genetic networks - can be obtained by viewing each hyperrectangle as a node in a discrete system, so that trajectories follow a path in a transition graph. In this paper, a probabilistic interpretation is given for the transition between two nodes A and B, based on the volume of the initial conditions on hyperrectangle A whose trajectories cross to B. In an example consisting of two intertwinned negative loops, this probabilistic interpretation is used to predict the most likely periodic orbit given a set of parameters, or to find parameters such that the system yields a desired periodic orbit with a high probability.