Randomly evolving idiotypic networks: modular mean field theory

We develop a modular mean field theory for a minimalistic model of the idiotypic network. The model comprises the random influx of new idiotypes and a deterministic selection. It describes the evolution of the idiotypic network towards complex modular architectures, the building principles of which are known. The nodes of the network can be classified into groups of nodes, the modules, which share statistical properties. Each node experiences only the mean influence of the groups to which it is linked. Given the size of the groups and linking between them the statistical properties such as mean occupation, mean lifetime, and mean number of occupied neighbors are calculated for a variety of patterns and compared with simulations. For a pattern which consists of pairs of occupied nodes correlations are taken into account.