Brain Performance versus Phase Transitions.
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ABSTRACT: We here illustrate how a well-founded study of the brain may originate in assuming analogies with phase-transition phenomena. Analyzing to what extent a weak signal endures in noisy environments, we identify the underlying mechanisms, and it results a description of how the excitability associated to (non-equilibrium) phase changes and criticality optimizes the processing of the signal. Our setting is a network of integrate-and-fire nodes in which connections are heterogeneous with rapid time-varying intensities mimicking fatigue and potentiation. Emergence then becomes quite robust against wiring topology modification--in fact, we considered from a fully connected network to the Homo sapiens connectome--showing the essential role of synaptic flickering on computations. We also suggest how to experimentally disclose significant changes during actual brain operation.
SUBMITTER: Torres JJ
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4507401 | biostudies-other | 2015
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other
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