Related papers: Brain complexity born out of criticality
Already two decades passed since the first applications of graph theory to brain neuroimaging. Since that early description, the characterization of the brain as a very large interacting complex network has evolved in several directions. In…
Motivated by the idea that criticality and universality of phase transitions might play a crucial role in achieving and sustaining learning and intelligent behaviour in biological and artificial networks, we analyse a theoretical and a…
This essay is presented with two principal objectives in mind: first, to document the prevalence of fractals at all levels of the nervous system, giving credence to the notion of their functional relevance; and second, to draw attention to…
The framework of Modern Theory of Critical State Transitions considers the relation between different levels of organization in complex systems in terms of Critical State Transitions. A State Transition between levels entails changes of…
The human structural connectome has a complex internal community organization, characterized by a high degree of overlap and related to functional and cognitive phenomena. We explored connectivity properties in connectome networks and…
Empirical evidence suggesting that living systems might operate in the vicinity of critical points, at the borderline between order and disorder, has proliferated in recent years, with examples ranging from spontaneous brain activity to…
The large-scale structural ingredients of the brain and neural connectomes have been identified in recent years. These are, similar to the features found in many other real networks: the arrangement of brain regions into modules and the…
Network structure strongly constrains the range of dynamic behaviors available to a complex system. These system dynamics can be classified based on their response to perturbations over time into two distinct regimes, ordered or chaotic,…
The functioning of an organ such as the brain emerges from interactions between its constituent parts. Further, this interaction is not immutable in time but rather unfolds in a succession of patterns, thereby allowing the brain to adapt to…
The dynamics at the critical-point of a general first-order quantum phase transition in a finite system is examined, from an algebraic perspective. Suitable Hamiltonians are constructed whose spectra exhibit coexistence of states…
Learning requires the traversal of inherently distinct cognitive states to produce behavioral adaptation. Yet, tools to explicitly measure these states with non-invasive imaging -- and to assess their dynamics during learning -- remain…
We study functional activity in the human brain using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging and recently developed tools from network science. The data arise from the performance of a simple behavioural motor learning task. Unsupervised…
Critical dynamics are assumed to be an attractive mode for normal brain functioning as information processing and computational capabilities are found to be optimized there. Recent experimental observations of neuronal activity patterns…
Recent analyses combining advanced theoretical techniques and high-quality data from thousands of simultaneously recorded neurons provide strong support for the hypothesis that neural dynamics operate near the edge of instability across…
The recent controversy of applicability of quantum formalism to brain dynamics has been critically analysed. The prerequisites for any type of quantum formalism or quantum field theory is to investigate whether the anatomical structure of…
The quest for a scientific description of consciousness has given rise to new theoretical and empirical paradigms for the investigation of phenomenological contents as well as clinical disorders of consciousness. An outstanding challenge in…
This work builds on a rich discourse surrounding the social brain hypothesis as well as the definition and quantification of social complexity. We believe this manuscript provides a new perspective on the topic by pairing a conceptual…
Adolescence is marked by rapid development of executive function. Mounting evidence suggests that executive function in adults may be driven by dynamic control of neurophysiological processes. Yet, how these dynamics evolve over adolescence…
Deciphering the underpinnings of the dynamical processes leading to information transmission, processing, and storing in the brain is a crucial challenge in neuroscience. An inspiring but speculative theoretical idea is that such dynamics…
We discuss the presence of both dynamical chaos and signals of a second--order phase transition in numerical Vlasov simulations of nuclear multifragmentation. We find that chaoticity and criticality are strongly related and play a crucial…