Related papers: Neural criticality from effective latent variables

Neural networks with equal excitatory and inhibitory feedback show high computational performance. They operate close to a critical point characterized by the joint activation of large populations of neurons. Yet, in macaque motor cortex we…

This study delves into the plasticity of neural networks, offering empirical support for the notion that critical learning periods and warm-starting performance loss can be avoided through simple adjustments to learning hyperparameters. The…

Unlike digital computers, the brain exhibits spontaneous activity even during complete rest, despite the evolutionary pressure for energy efficiency. Inspired by the critical brain hypothesis, which proposes that the brain operates…

A multi-type branching process is introduced to mimic the evolution of the avalanche activity and determine the critical density of the Abelian Manna model. This branching process incorporates partially the spatio-temporal correlations of…

It has been postulated that the brain operates in a self-organized critical state that brings multiple benefits, such as optimal sensitivity to input. Thus far, self-organized criticality has typically been depicted as a one-dimensional…

The repertoire of neural activity patterns that a cortical network can produce constrains the network's ability to transfer and process information. Here, we measured activity patterns obtained from multi-site local field potential (LFP)…

Brain rhythms contribute to every aspect of brain function. Here, we study critical and resonance phenomena that precede the emergence of brain rhythms. Using an analytical approach and simulations of a cortical circuit model of neural…

It has long been hypothesized that operating close to the critical state is beneficial for natural and artificial systems. We test this hypothesis by evolving foraging agents controlled by neural networks that can change the system's…

A celebrated and controversial hypothesis conjectures that some biological systems --parts, aspects, or groups of them-- may extract important functional benefits from operating at the edge of instability, halfway between order and…

The human cortex is never at rest but in a state of sparse and noisy neural activity that can be detected at broadly diverse resolution scales. It has been conjectured that such a state is best described as a critical dynamical process --…

When complex systems are driven to extinction by some external factor, their non-stationary dynamics can present an intermittent behaviour between relative tranquility and burst of activity whose consequences are often catastrophic. To…

Experiments suggest that cerebral cortex gains several functional advantages by operating in a dynamical regime near the critical point of a phase transition. However, a long-standing criticism of this hypothesis is that critical dynamics…

There exist very few ways to isolate cognitive processes, historically defined via highly controlled laboratory studies, in more ecologically valid contexts. Specifically, it remains unclear as to what extent patterns of neural activity…

We study a model of ``organized'' criticality, where a single avalanche propagates through an \textit{a priori} static (i.e., organized) sandpile configuration. The latter is chosen according to an i.i.d. distribution from a Borel…

The collapse of interdependent networks, as well as similar avalanche phenomena, is driven by cascading failures. At the critical point, the cascade begins as a critical branching process, where each failing node (element) triggers, on…

Similar to humans and animals, deep artificial neural networks exhibit critical periods during which a temporary stimulus deficit can impair the development of a skill. The extent of the impairment depends on the onset and length of the…

Scale-free dynamics in physical and biological systems can arise from a variety of causes. Here, we explore a branching process which leads to such dynamics. We find conditions for the appearance of power laws and study quantitatively what…

Many systems in nature are conjectured to exist at a critical point, including the brain and earthquake faults. The primary reason for this conjecture is that the distribution of clusters (avalanches of firing neurons in the brain or…

We report on the computer study of a lattice system that relaxes from a metastable state. Under appropriate nonequilibrium randomness, relaxation occurs by avalanches, i.e., the model evolution is discontinuous and displays many scales in a…

There is evidence that biological systems, such as the brain, work at a critical regime robust to noise, and are therefore able to remain in it under perturbations. In this work, we address the question of robustness of critical systems to…