Related papers: A positive mood, a flexible brain
The relation between large-scale brain structure and function is an outstanding open problem in neuroscience. We approach this problem by studying the dynamical regime under which realistic spatio-temporal patterns of brain activity emerge…
The primary tasks of a cognitive system is to survive and to maximize a life-long utility function, like the number of offsprings. A direct computational maximization of life-long utility is however not possible in complex environments,…
Synchronization plays a fundamental role in healthy cognitive and motor function. However, how synchronization depends on the interplay between local dynamics, coupling and topology and how prone to synchronization a network with given…
Value guides behavior. With knowledge of stimulus values and action consequences, behaviors that maximize expected reward can be selected. Prior work has identified several brain structures critical for representing both stimuli and their…
Human brain dynamics can be profitably viewed through the lens of statistical mechanics, where neurophysiological activity evolves around and between local attractors representing preferred mental states. Many physically-inspired models of…
Adaptive reasoning enables humans to flexibly adjust inference strategies when environmental rules or contexts change, yet its underlying neural dynamics remain unclear. This study investigated the neurophysiological mechanisms of adaptive…
The underlying physiological mechanisms of generating conscious states are still unknown. To make progress on the problem of consciousness, we will need to experimentally design a system that evolves in a similar way our brains do. Recent…
General results from statistical learning theory suggest to understand not only brain computations, but also brain plasticity as probabilistic inference. But a model for that has been missing. We propose that inherently stochastic features…
Traditional approaches to understanding the brain's resilience to neuropathology have identified neurophysiological variables, often described as brain or cognitive 'reserve,' associated with better outcomes. However, mechanisms of function…
The impressive lifelong learning in animal brains is primarily enabled by plastic changes in synaptic connectivity. Importantly, these changes are not passive, but are actively controlled by neuromodulation, which is itself under the…
Social ties are strongly related to well-being. But what characterizes this relationship? This study investigates social mechanisms explaining how social ties affect well-being through social integration and social influence, and how…
To maintain coherence in language, the brain must satisfy key competing temporal demands: the gradual accumulation of meaning across extended context (drift) and the rapid reconfiguration of representations at event boundaries (shift). How…
At the macroscale, the brain operates as a network of interconnected neuronal populations, which display rhythmic dynamics that support interareal communication. Understanding how stimulation of a particular brain area impacts such…
Humans often make decisions which maximize an internal utility function. For example, humans often maximize their expected reward when gambling and this is considered as a "rational" decision. However, humans tend to change their betting…
The human brain network is modular--comprised of communities of tightly interconnected nodes. This network contains local hubs, which have many connections within their own communities, and connector hubs, which have connections diversely…
[Background] Several studies have mentioned network modularity -- that a network can easily be decomposed into subgraphs that are densely connected within and weakly connected between each other -- as a factor affecting metabolic…
Background: The brain's functional network constantly adapts to external changes. However, the mechanisms underlying this dynamic adaptive behavior in stroke patients with motor injuries and its role in post-stroke motor recovery remain…
It has become increasingly popular to study the brain as a network due to the realization that functionality cannot be explained exclusively by independent activation of specialized regions. Instead, across a large spectrum of behaviors,…
A large repertoire of spatiotemporal activity patterns in the brain is the basis for adaptive behaviour. Understanding the mechanism by which the brain's hundred billion neurons and hundred trillion synapses manage to produce such a range…
Synaptic plasticity is the capacity of a preexisting connection between two neurons to change in strength as a function of neural activity. Because synaptic plasticity is the major candidate mechanism for learning and memory, the…