  A transition from asymmetric to symmetric patterns in time-dependent extended
systems is described. It is found that one dimensional cellular automata,
started from fully random initial conditions, can be forced to evolve into
complex symmetrical patterns by stochastically coupling a proportion $p$ of
pairs of sites located at equal distance from the center of the lattice. A
nontrivial critical value of $p$ must be surpassed in order to obtain
symmetrical patterns during the evolution. This strategy is able to classify
the cellular automata rules -with complex behavior- between those that support
time-dependent symmetric patterns and those which do not support such kind of
patterns.
