Stochastic resonance: from climate to biology

Abstract. In this lecture, I will review some basic aspects of the mechanism of stochastic resonance, first introduced as a possible mechanism to explain long term climatic variation. Since then, there have been many applications of stochastic resonance in physical and biological systems. I will show that in complex system, stochastic resonance can substantially change as a function of the "system complexity". Also, I will briefly mention how to apply stochastic resonance for the case of Brownian motors.