1
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Yang B, Liu H, Jiang T, Yu S. Fluctuation in cortical excitation/inhibition modulates capability of attention across time scales ranging from hours to seconds. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae309. [PMID: 39076112 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2024] [Revised: 07/04/2024] [Accepted: 07/13/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024] Open
Abstract
Sustained attention, as the basis of general cognitive ability, naturally varies across different time scales, spanning from hours, e.g. from wakefulness to drowsiness state, to seconds, e.g. trial-by-trail fluctuation in a task session. Whether there is a unified mechanism underneath such trans-scale variability remains unclear. Here we show that fluctuation of cortical excitation/inhibition (E/I) is a strong modulator to sustained attention in humans across time scales. First, we observed the ability to attend varied across different brain states (wakefulness, postprandial somnolence, sleep deprived), as well as within any single state with larger swings. Second, regardless of the time scale involved, we found highly attentive state was always linked to more balanced cortical E/I characterized by electroencephalography (EEG) features, while deviations from the balanced state led to temporal decline in attention, suggesting the fluctuation of cortical E/I as a common mechanism underneath trans-scale attentional variability. Furthermore, we found the variations of both sustained attention and cortical E/I indices exhibited fractal structure in the temporal domain, exhibiting features of self-similarity. Taken together, these results demonstrate that sustained attention naturally varies across different time scales in a more complex way than previously appreciated, with the cortical E/I as a shared neurophysiological modulator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Binghao Yang
- Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-inspired Intelligence, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95, Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 230, Yueyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Hao Liu
- Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-inspired Intelligence, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95, Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100190, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 230, Yueyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Tianzi Jiang
- Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-inspired Intelligence, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95, Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100190, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 230, Yueyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
- Xiaoxiang Institute for Brain Health and Yongzhou Central Hospital, No. 151, Xiaoshui West Road, Lingling District, Yongzhou 425000, Hunan Province, China
| | - Shan Yu
- Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-inspired Intelligence, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95, Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19, Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing 100049, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Brain-inspired Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 230, Yueyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China
- Lead contact. Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-inspired Intelligence, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 95, Zhongguancun East Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100190, China
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2
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Fontenele AJ, Sooter JS, Norman VK, Gautam SH, Shew WL. Low-dimensional criticality embedded in high-dimensional awake brain dynamics. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2024; 10:eadj9303. [PMID: 38669340 PMCID: PMC11051676 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adj9303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024]
Abstract
Whether cortical neurons operate in a strongly or weakly correlated dynamical regime determines fundamental information processing capabilities and has fueled decades of debate. We offer a resolution of this debate; we show that two important dynamical regimes, typically considered incompatible, can coexist in the same local cortical circuit by separating them into two different subspaces. In awake mouse motor cortex, we find a low-dimensional subspace with large fluctuations consistent with criticality-a dynamical regime with moderate correlations and multi-scale information capacity and transmission. Orthogonal to this critical subspace, we find a high-dimensional subspace containing a desynchronized dynamical regime, which may optimize input discrimination. The critical subspace is apparent only at long timescales, which explains discrepancies among some previous studies. Using a computational model, we show that the emergence of a low-dimensional critical subspace at large timescales agrees with established theory of critical dynamics. Our results suggest that the cortex leverages its high dimensionality to multiplex dynamical regimes across different subspaces.
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3
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Ribeiro TL, Jendrichovsky P, Yu S, Martin DA, Kanold PO, Chialvo DR, Plenz D. Trial-by-trial variability in cortical responses exhibits scaling of spatial correlations predicted from critical dynamics. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113762. [PMID: 38341856 PMCID: PMC10956720 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/13/2024] Open
Abstract
In the mammalian cortex, even simple sensory inputs or movements activate many neurons, with each neuron responding variably to repeated stimuli-a phenomenon known as trial-by-trial variability. Understanding the spatial patterns and dynamics of this variability is challenging. Using cellular 2-photon imaging, we study visual and auditory responses in the primary cortices of awake mice. We focus on how individual neurons' responses differed from the overall population. We find consistent spatial correlations in these differences that are unique to each trial and linearly scale with the cortical area observed, a characteristic of critical dynamics as confirmed in our neuronal simulations. Using chronic multi-electrode recordings, we observe similar scaling in the prefrontal and premotor cortex of non-human primates during self-initiated and visually cued motor tasks. These results suggest that trial-by-trial variability, rather than being random noise, reflects a critical, fluctuation-dominated state in the cortex, supporting the brain's efficiency in processing information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago L Ribeiro
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Peter Jendrichovsky
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Shan Yu
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA; Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
| | - Daniel A Martin
- Center for Complex Systems & Brain Sciences (CEMSC3), Instituto de Ciencias Físicas, (ICIFI) Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), San Martín 1650 Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290 Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Patrick O Kanold
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Kavli Neuroscience Discovery Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Dante R Chialvo
- Center for Complex Systems & Brain Sciences (CEMSC3), Instituto de Ciencias Físicas, (ICIFI) Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), San Martín 1650 Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290 Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Dietmar Plenz
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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4
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Yang B, Zhang H, Jiang T, Yu S. Natural brain state change with E/I balance shifting toward inhibition is associated with vigilance impairment. iScience 2023; 26:107963. [PMID: 37822500 PMCID: PMC10562778 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107963] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2023] [Revised: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The delicate balance between cortical excitation and inhibition (E/I) plays a pivotal role in brain state changes. While previous studies have associated cortical hyperexcitability with brain state changes induced by sleep deprivation, whether cortical hypoexcitability is also linked to brain state changes and, if so, how it could affect cognitive performance remain unknown. Here, we address these questions by examining the brain state change occurring after meals, i.e., postprandial somnolence, and comparing it with that induced by sleep deprivation. By analyzing features representing network excitability based on electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, we confirmed cortical hyperexcitability under sleep deprivation but revealed hypoexcitability under postprandial somnolence. In addition, we found that both sleep deprivation and postprandial somnolence adversely affected the level of vigilance. These results indicate that cortical E/I balance toward inhibition is associated with brain state changes, and deviation from the balanced state, regardless of its direction, could impair cognitive performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Binghao Yang
- Brainnetome Center, Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-inspired Intelligence, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China
| | - Haoran Zhang
- Brainnetome Center, Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-inspired Intelligence, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China
| | - Tianzi Jiang
- Brainnetome Center, Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-inspired Intelligence, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Artificial Intelligence, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China
- Research Center for Augmented Intelligence, Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou 311121, China
| | - Shan Yu
- Brainnetome Center, Laboratory of Brain Atlas and Brain-inspired Intelligence, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
- School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China
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5
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Kardan O, Stier AJ, Layden EA, Choe KW, Lyu M, Zhang X, Beilock SL, Rosenberg MD, Berman MG. Improvements in task performance after practice are associated with scale-free dynamics of brain activity. Netw Neurosci 2023; 7:1129-1152. [PMID: 37781143 PMCID: PMC10473260 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00319] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Although practicing a task generally benefits later performance on that same task, there are individual differences in practice effects. One avenue to model such differences comes from research showing that brain networks extract functional advantages from operating in the vicinity of criticality, a state in which brain network activity is more scale-free. We hypothesized that higher scale-free signal from fMRI data, measured with the Hurst exponent (H), indicates closer proximity to critical states. We tested whether individuals with higher H during repeated task performance would show greater practice effects. In Study 1, participants performed a dual-n-back task (DNB) twice during MRI (n = 56). In Study 2, we used two runs of n-back task (NBK) data from the Human Connectome Project sample (n = 599). In Study 3, participants performed a word completion task (CAST) across six runs (n = 44). In all three studies, multivariate analysis was used to test whether higher H was related to greater practice-related performance improvement. Supporting our hypothesis, we found patterns of higher H that reliably correlated with greater performance improvement across participants in all three studies. However, the predictive brain regions were distinct, suggesting that the specific spatial H↑ patterns are not task-general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omid Kardan
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Andrew J. Stier
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Elliot A. Layden
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Kyoung Whan Choe
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Muxuan Lyu
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Management and Marketing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong
| | - Xihan Zhang
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Sian L. Beilock
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Marc G. Berman
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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6
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Fontenele AJ, Sooter JS, Norman VK, Gautam SH, Shew WL. Low dimensional criticality embedded in high dimensional awake brain dynamics. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.05.522896. [PMID: 37546833 PMCID: PMC10401950 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.05.522896] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Whether cortical neurons operate in a strongly or weakly correlated dynamical regime determines fundamental information processing capabilities and has fueled decades of debate. Here we offer a resolution of this debate; we show that two important dynamical regimes, typically considered incompatible, can coexist in the same local cortical circuit by separating them into two different subspaces. In awake mouse motor cortex, we find a low-dimensional subspace with large fluctuations consistent with criticality - a dynamical regime with moderate correlations and multi-scale information capacity and transmission. Orthogonal to this critical subspace, we find a high-dimensional subspace containing a desynchronized dynamical regime, which may optimize input discrimination. The critical subspace is apparent only at long timescales, which explains discrepancies among some previous studies. Using a computational model, we show that the emergence of a low-dimensional critical subspace at large timescale agrees with established theory of critical dynamics. Our results suggest that cortex leverages its high dimensionality to multiplex dynamical regimes across different subspaces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio J. Fontenele
- UA Integrative Systems Neuroscience Group, Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA, 72701
| | - J. Samuel Sooter
- UA Integrative Systems Neuroscience Group, Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA, 72701
| | - V. Kindler Norman
- UA Integrative Systems Neuroscience Group, Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA, 72701
| | - Shree Hari Gautam
- UA Integrative Systems Neuroscience Group, Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA, 72701
| | - Woodrow L. Shew
- UA Integrative Systems Neuroscience Group, Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA, 72701
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7
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Morales GB, di Santo S, Muñoz MA. Quasiuniversal scaling in mouse-brain neuronal activity stems from edge-of-instability critical dynamics. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2208998120. [PMID: 36827262 PMCID: PMC9992863 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2208998120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/31/2022] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The brain is in a state of perpetual reverberant neural activity, even in the absence of specific tasks or stimuli. Shedding light on the origin and functional significance of such a dynamical state is essential to understanding how the brain transmits, processes, and stores information. An inspiring, albeit controversial, conjecture proposes that some statistical characteristics of empirically observed neuronal activity can be understood by assuming that brain networks operate in a dynamical regime with features, including the emergence of scale invariance, resembling those seen typically near phase transitions. Here, we present a data-driven analysis based on simultaneous high-throughput recordings of the activity of thousands of individual neurons in various regions of the mouse brain. To analyze these data, we construct a unified theoretical framework that synergistically combines a phenomenological renormalization group approach and techniques that infer the general dynamical state of a neural population, while designing complementary tools. This strategy allows us to uncover strong signatures of scale invariance that are "quasiuniversal" across brain regions and experiments, revealing that all the analyzed areas operate, to a greater or lesser extent, near the edge of instability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillermo B. Morales
- Departamento de Electromagnetismo y Física de la Materia, Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional Universidad de Granada, GranadaE-18071, Spain
| | - Serena di Santo
- Morton B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute Columbia University, New York, NY10027
| | - Miguel A. Muñoz
- Departamento de Electromagnetismo y Física de la Materia, Instituto Carlos I de Física Teórica y Computacional Universidad de Granada, GranadaE-18071, Spain
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8
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Jones SA, Barfield JH, Norman VK, Shew WL. Scale-free behavioral dynamics directly linked with scale-free cortical dynamics. eLife 2023; 12:e79950. [PMID: 36705565 PMCID: PMC9931391 DOI: 10.7554/elife.79950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Naturally occurring body movements and collective neural activity both exhibit complex dynamics, often with scale-free, fractal spatiotemporal structure. Scale-free dynamics of both brain and behavior are important because each is associated with functional benefits to the organism. Despite their similarities, scale-free brain activity and scale-free behavior have been studied separately, without a unified explanation. Here, we show that scale-free dynamics of mouse behavior and neurons in the visual cortex are strongly related. Surprisingly, the scale-free neural activity is limited to specific subsets of neurons, and these scale-free subsets exhibit stochastic winner-take-all competition with other neural subsets. This observation is inconsistent with prevailing theories of scale-free dynamics in neural systems, which stem from the criticality hypothesis. We develop a computational model which incorporates known cell-type-specific circuit structure, explaining our findings with a new type of critical dynamics. Our results establish neural underpinnings of scale-free behavior and clear behavioral relevance of scale-free neural activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina A Jones
- Department of Physics, University of Arkansas at FayettevilleFayettevilleUnited States
| | - Jacob H Barfield
- Department of Physics, University of Arkansas at FayettevilleFayettevilleUnited States
| | - V Kindler Norman
- Department of Physics, University of Arkansas at FayettevilleFayettevilleUnited States
| | - Woodrow L Shew
- Department of Physics, University of Arkansas at FayettevilleFayettevilleUnited States
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9
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O'Byrne J, Jerbi K. How critical is brain criticality? Trends Neurosci 2022; 45:820-837. [PMID: 36096888 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2022] [Revised: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
Criticality is the singular state of complex systems poised at the brink of a phase transition between order and randomness. Such systems display remarkable information-processing capabilities, evoking the compelling hypothesis that the brain may itself be critical. This foundational idea is now drawing renewed interest thanks to high-density data and converging cross-disciplinary knowledge. Together, these lines of inquiry have shed light on the intimate link between criticality, computation, and cognition. Here, we review these emerging trends in criticality neuroscience, highlighting new data pertaining to the edge of chaos and near-criticality, and making a case for the distance to criticality as a useful metric for probing cognitive states and mental illness. This unfolding progress in the field contributes to establishing criticality theory as a powerful mechanistic framework for studying emergent function and its efficiency in both biological and artificial neural networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan O'Byrne
- Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Lab, Psychology Department, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Karim Jerbi
- Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience Lab, Psychology Department, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; MILA (Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute), Montreal, Quebec, Canada; UNIQUE Center (Quebec Neuro-AI Research Center), Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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10
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Masset P, Qin S, Zavatone-Veth JA. Drifting neuronal representations: Bug or feature? BIOLOGICAL CYBERNETICS 2022; 116:253-266. [PMID: 34993613 DOI: 10.1007/s00422-021-00916-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The brain displays a remarkable ability to sustain stable memories, allowing animals to execute precise behaviors or recall stimulus associations years after they were first learned. Yet, recent long-term recording experiments have revealed that single-neuron representations continuously change over time, contravening the classical assumption that learned features remain static. How do unstable neural codes support robust perception, memories, and actions? Here, we review recent experimental evidence for such representational drift across brain areas, as well as dissections of its functional characteristics and underlying mechanisms. We emphasize theoretical proposals for how drift need not only be a form of noise for which the brain must compensate. Rather, it can emerge from computationally beneficial mechanisms in hierarchical networks performing robust probabilistic computations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Masset
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Shanshan Qin
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Jacob A Zavatone-Veth
- Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Physics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
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11
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Khoshkhou M, Montakhab A. Optimal reinforcement learning near the edge of a synchronization transition. Phys Rev E 2022; 105:044312. [PMID: 35590577 DOI: 10.1103/physreve.105.044312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 03/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Recent experimental and theoretical studies have indicated that the putative criticality of cortical dynamics may correspond to a synchronization phase transition. The critical dynamics near such a critical point needs further investigation specifically when compared to the critical behavior near the standard absorbing state phase transition. Since the phenomena of learning and self-organized criticality (SOC) at the edge of synchronization transition can emerge jointly in spiking neural networks due to the presence of spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP), it is tempting to ask the following: what is the relationship between synchronization and learning in neural networks? Further, does learning benefit from SOC at the edge of synchronization transition? In this paper, we intend to address these important issues. Accordingly, we construct a biologically inspired model of a cognitive system which learns to perform stimulus-response tasks. We train this system using a reinforcement learning rule implemented through dopamine-modulated STDP. We find that the system exhibits a continuous transition from synchronous to asynchronous neural oscillations upon increasing the average axonal time delay. We characterize the learning performance of the system and observe that it is optimized near the synchronization transition. We also study neuronal avalanches in the system and provide evidence that optimized learning is achieved in a slightly supercritical state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahsa Khoshkhou
- Department of Physics, College of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71946-84795, Iran
| | - Afshin Montakhab
- Department of Physics, College of Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz 71946-84795, Iran
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12
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Megemont M, McBurney-Lin J, Yang H. Pupil diameter is not an accurate real-time readout of locus coeruleus activity. eLife 2022; 11:70510. [PMID: 35107419 PMCID: PMC8809893 DOI: 10.7554/elife.70510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 12/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Pupil diameter is often treated as a noninvasive readout of activity in the locus coeruleus (LC). However, how accurately it can be used to index LC activity is not known. To address this question, we established a graded relationship between pupil size changes and LC spiking activity in mice, where pupil dilation increased monotonically with the number of LC spikes. However, this relationship exists with substantial variability such that pupil diameter can only be used to accurately predict a small fraction of LC activity on a moment-by-moment basis. In addition, pupil exhibited large session-to-session fluctuations in response to identical optical stimulation in the LC. The variations in the pupil–LC relationship were strongly correlated with decision bias-related behavioral variables. Together, our data show that substantial variability exists in an overall graded relationship between pupil diameter and LC activity, and further suggest that the pupil–LC relationship is dynamically modulated by brain states, supporting and extending our previous findings (Yang et al., 2021).
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Megemont
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, United States
| | - Jim McBurney-Lin
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, United States.,Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, United States
| | - Hongdian Yang
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, United States.,Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, United States
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13
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Xin Y, Bai T, Zhang T, Chen Y, Wang K, Yu S, Liu N, Tian Y. Electroconvulsive therapy modulates critical brain dynamics in major depressive disorder patients. Brain Stimul 2022; 15:214-225. [DOI: 10.1016/j.brs.2021.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
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14
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Mariani B, Nicoletti G, Bisio M, Maschietto M, Oboe R, Leparulo A, Suweis S, Vassanelli S. Neuronal Avalanches Across the Rat Somatosensory Barrel Cortex and the Effect of Single Whisker Stimulation. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 15:709677. [PMID: 34526881 PMCID: PMC8435673 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2021.709677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Since its first experimental signatures, the so called "critical brain hypothesis" has been extensively studied. Yet, its actual foundations remain elusive. According to a widely accepted teleological reasoning, the brain would be poised to a critical state to optimize the mapping of the noisy and ever changing real-world inputs, thus suggesting that primary sensory cortical areas should be critical. We investigated whether a single barrel column of the somatosensory cortex of the anesthetized rat displays a critical behavior. Neuronal avalanches were recorded across all cortical layers in terms of both multi-unit activities and population local field potentials, and their behavior during spontaneous activity compared to the one evoked by a controlled single whisker deflection. By applying a maximum likelihood statistical method based on timeseries undersampling to fit the avalanches distributions, we show that neuronal avalanches are power law distributed for both multi-unit activities and local field potentials during spontaneous activity, with exponents that are spread along a scaling line. Instead, after the tactile stimulus, activity switches to a transient across-layers synchronization mode that appears to dominate the cortical representation of the single sensory input.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedetta Mariani
- Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Giorgio Nicoletti
- Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Marta Bisio
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Marta Maschietto
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Roberto Oboe
- Department of Management and Engineering, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | | | - Samir Suweis
- Laboratory of Interdisciplinary Physics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Stefano Vassanelli
- Padova Neuroscience Center, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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15
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Bansal K, Garcia JO, Lauharatanahirun N, Muldoon SF, Sajda P, Vettel JM. Scale-specific dynamics of high-amplitude bursts in EEG capture behaviorally meaningful variability. Neuroimage 2021; 241:118425. [PMID: 34303795 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2021] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cascading high-amplitude bursts in neural activity, termed avalanches, are thought to provide insight into the complex spatially distributed interactions in neural systems. In human neuroimaging, for example, avalanches occurring during resting-state show scale-invariant dynamics, supporting the hypothesis that the brain operates near a critical point that enables long range spatial communication. In fact, it has been suggested that such scale-invariant dynamics, characterized by a power-law distribution in these avalanches, are universal in neural systems and emerge through a common mechanism. While the analysis of avalanches and subsequent criticality is increasingly seen as a framework for using complex systems theory to understand brain function, it is unclear how the framework would account for the omnipresent cognitive variability, whether across individuals or tasks. To address this, we analyzed avalanches in the EEG activity of healthy humans during rest as well as two distinct task conditions that varied in cognitive demands and produced behavioral measures unique to each individual. In both rest and task conditions we observed that avalanche dynamics demonstrate scale-invariant characteristics, but differ in their specific features, demonstrating individual variability. Using a new metric we call normalized engagement, which estimates the likelihood for a brain region to produce high-amplitude bursts, we also investigated regional features of avalanche dynamics. Normalized engagement showed not only the expected individual and task dependent variability, but also scale-specificity that correlated with individual behavior. Our results suggest that the study of avalanches in human brain activity provides a tool to assess cognitive variability. Our findings expand our understanding of avalanche features and are supportive of the emerging theoretical idea that the dynamics of an active human brain operate close to a critical-like region and not a singular critical-state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanika Bansal
- Human Research and Engineering Directorate, US DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.
| | - Javier O Garcia
- Human Research and Engineering Directorate, US DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005, USA
| | - Nina Lauharatanahirun
- Department of Biomedical Engineering and Department of Biobehavioral Health, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16802, USA
| | - Sarah F Muldoon
- Mathematics Department, CDSE Program, and Neuroscience Program, University at Buffalo, SUNY, Buffalo, NY 14260, USA
| | - Paul Sajda
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA; Data Science Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Jean M Vettel
- Human Research and Engineering Directorate, US DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, MD 21005, USA; Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
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16
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Fekete T, Hinrichs H, Sitt JD, Heinze HJ, Shriki O. Multiscale criticality measures as general-purpose gauges of proper brain function. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14441. [PMID: 34262121 PMCID: PMC8280148 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-93880-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The brain is universally regarded as a system for processing information. If so, any behavioral or cognitive dysfunction should lend itself to depiction in terms of information processing deficiencies. Information is characterized by recursive, hierarchical complexity. The brain accommodates this complexity by a hierarchy of large/slow and small/fast spatiotemporal loops of activity. Thus, successful information processing hinges upon tightly regulating the spatiotemporal makeup of activity, to optimally match the underlying multiscale delay structure of such hierarchical networks. Reduced capacity for information processing will then be expressed as deviance from this requisite multiscale character of spatiotemporal activity. This deviance is captured by a general family of multiscale criticality measures (MsCr). MsCr measures reflect the behavior of conventional criticality measures (such as the branching parameter) across temporal scale. We applied MsCr to MEG and EEG data in several telling degraded information processing scenarios. Consistently with our previous modeling work, MsCr measures systematically varied with information processing capacity: MsCr fingerprints showed deviance in the four states of compromised information processing examined in this study, disorders of consciousness, mild cognitive impairment, schizophrenia and even during pre-ictal activity. MsCr measures might thus be able to serve as general gauges of information processing capacity and, therefore, as normative measures of brain health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomer Fekete
- Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel.
- Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel.
- Department of Behavioral Neurology, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany.
| | - Hermann Hinrichs
- Department of Behavioral Neurology, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Jacobo Diego Sitt
- INSERM, U 1127, Paris, France
- Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière, Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Hans-Jochen Heinze
- Department of Behavioral Neurology, Leibniz Institute for Neurobiology, Magdeburg, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Oren Shriki
- Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
- Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
- Department of Computer Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva, Israel
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17
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Miller SR, Yu S, Pajevic S, Plenz D. Long-term stability of avalanche scaling and integrative network organization in prefrontal and premotor cortex. Netw Neurosci 2021; 5:505-526. [PMID: 34189375 PMCID: PMC8233112 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Ongoing neuronal activity in the brain establishes functional networks that reflect normal and pathological brain function. Most estimates of these functional networks suffer from low spatiotemporal resolution and indirect measures of neuronal population activity, limiting the accuracy and reliability in their reconstruction over time. Here, we studied the stability of neuronal avalanche dynamics and corresponding reconstructed functional networks in the adult brain. Using chronically implanted high-density microelectrode arrays, the local field potential (LFP) of resting-state activity was recorded in prefrontal and premotor cortex of awake nonhuman primates. Avalanche dynamics revealed stable scaling exhibiting an inverted parabolic profile and collapse exponent of 2 in line with a critical branching process over many days and weeks. Functional networks were based on a Bayesian-derived estimator and demonstrated stable integrative properties characterized by nontrivial high neighborhood overlap between strongly connected nodes and robustness to weak-link pruning. Entropy-based mixing analysis revealed significant changes in strong link weights over weeks. The long-term stability in avalanche scaling and integrative network organization in the face of individual link weight changes should support the development of noninvasive biomarkers to characterize normal and abnormal brain states in the adult brain. The brain is spontaneously active even in the absence of specific sensations or movements. This ongoing activity arises from the interactions among hundreds of thousands of neurons, which has been captured by a variety of distinct functional networks predictive of healthy and pathological brain functions. The global dynamical states and overarching network principles that underlie such ongoing brain activity are not well understood. Here we identify avalanche dynamics and “friendship” networks as two major features of ongoing activity in the frontal cortex of nonhuman primates. We demonstrate their stability over weeks in the face of local network changes. Deviation from avalanche dynamics and “friendship” organization might provide robust biomarkers to identify normal and pathological brain states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie R Miller
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Shan Yu
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Sinisa Pajevic
- Section on Quantitative Imaging and Tissue Sciences, National Institute of Child Health and Development, NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Dietmar Plenz
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
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18
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Bellay T, Shew WL, Yu S, Falco-Walter JJ, Plenz D. Selective Participation of Single Cortical Neurons in Neuronal Avalanches. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 14:620052. [PMID: 33551757 PMCID: PMC7862716 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2020.620052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuronal avalanches are scale-invariant neuronal population activity patterns in the cortex that emerge in vivo in the awake state and in vitro during balanced excitation and inhibition. Theory and experiments suggest that avalanches indicate a state of cortex that improves numerous aspects of information processing by allowing for the transient and selective formation of local as well as system-wide spanning neuronal groups. If avalanches are indeed involved with information processing, one might expect that single neurons would participate in avalanche patterns selectively. Alternatively, all neurons could participate proportionally to their own activity in each avalanche as would be expected for a population rate code. Distinguishing these hypotheses, however, has been difficult as robust avalanche analysis requires technically challenging measures of their intricate organization in space and time at the population level, while also recording sub- or suprathreshold activity from individual neurons with high temporal resolution. Here, we identify repeated avalanches in the ongoing local field potential (LFP) measured with high-density microelectrode arrays in the cortex of awake nonhuman primates and in acute cortex slices from young and adult rats. We studied extracellular unit firing in vivo and intracellular responses of pyramidal neurons in vitro. We found that single neurons participate selectively in specific LFP-based avalanche patterns. Furthermore, we show in vitro that manipulating the balance of excitation and inhibition abolishes this selectivity. Our results support the view that avalanches represent the selective, scale-invariant formation of neuronal groups in line with the idea of Hebbian cell assemblies underlying cortical information processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Timothy Bellay
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI, United States
| | - Woodrow L. Shew
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Shan Yu
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Jessica J. Falco-Walter
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Dietmar Plenz
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
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19
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Ribeiro TL, Chialvo DR, Plenz D. Scale-Free Dynamics in Animal Groups and Brain Networks. Front Syst Neurosci 2021; 14:591210. [PMID: 33551759 PMCID: PMC7854533 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2020.591210] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Collective phenomena fascinate by the emergence of order in systems composed of a myriad of small entities. They are ubiquitous in nature and can be found over a vast range of scales in physical and biological systems. Their key feature is the seemingly effortless emergence of adaptive collective behavior that cannot be trivially explained by the properties of the system's individual components. This perspective focuses on recent insights into the similarities of correlations for two apparently disparate phenomena: flocking in animal groups and neuronal ensemble activity in the brain. We first will summarize findings on the spontaneous organization in bird flocks and macro-scale human brain activity utilizing correlation functions and insights from critical dynamics. We then will discuss recent experimental findings that apply these approaches to the collective response of neurons to visual and motor processing, i.e., to local perturbations of neuronal networks at the meso- and microscale. We show how scale-free correlation functions capture the collective organization of neuronal avalanches in evoked neuronal populations in nonhuman primates and between neurons during visual processing in rodents. These experimental findings suggest that the coherent collective neural activity observed at scales much larger than the length of the direct neuronal interactions is demonstrative of a phase transition and we discuss the experimental support for either discontinuous or continuous phase transitions. We conclude that at or near a phase-transition neuronal information can propagate in the brain with similar efficiency as proposed to occur in the collective adaptive response observed in some animal groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago L Ribeiro
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Dante R Chialvo
- Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences (CEMSC3), Instituto de Ciencias Físicas, (ICIFI) Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de San Martín (UNSAM), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Dietmar Plenz
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
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20
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Carvalho TTA, Fontenele AJ, Girardi-Schappo M, Feliciano T, Aguiar LAA, Silva TPL, de Vasconcelos NAP, Carelli PV, Copelli M. Subsampled Directed-Percolation Models Explain Scaling Relations Experimentally Observed in the Brain. Front Neural Circuits 2021; 14:576727. [PMID: 33519388 PMCID: PMC7843423 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2020.576727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2002] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent experimental results on spike avalanches measured in the urethane-anesthetized rat cortex have revealed scaling relations that indicate a phase transition at a specific level of cortical firing rate variability. The scaling relations point to critical exponents whose values differ from those of a branching process, which has been the canonical model employed to understand brain criticality. This suggested that a different model, with a different phase transition, might be required to explain the data. Here we show that this is not necessarily the case. By employing two different models belonging to the same universality class as the branching process (mean-field directed percolation) and treating the simulation data exactly like experimental data, we reproduce most of the experimental results. We find that subsampling the model and adjusting the time bin used to define avalanches (as done with experimental data) are sufficient ingredients to change the apparent exponents of the critical point. Moreover, experimental data is only reproduced within a very narrow range in parameter space around the phase transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tawan T A Carvalho
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | | | - Mauricio Girardi-Schappo
- Department of Physics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.,Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Thaís Feliciano
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Leandro A A Aguiar
- Departamento de Ciências Fundamentais e Sociais, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Areia, Brazil
| | - Thais P L Silva
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Nivaldo A P de Vasconcelos
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.,Life and Health Sciences Research Institute/Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics, Braga, Portugal
| | - Pedro V Carelli
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Mauro Copelli
- Departamento de Física, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
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21
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Li J, Shew WL. Tuning network dynamics from criticality to an asynchronous state. PLoS Comput Biol 2020; 16:e1008268. [PMID: 32986705 PMCID: PMC7544040 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1008268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
According to many experimental observations, neurons in cerebral cortex tend to operate in an asynchronous regime, firing independently of each other. In contrast, many other experimental observations reveal cortical population firing dynamics that are relatively coordinated and occasionally synchronous. These discrepant observations have naturally led to competing hypotheses. A commonly hypothesized explanation of asynchronous firing is that excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs are precisely correlated, nearly canceling each other, sometimes referred to as 'balanced' excitation and inhibition. On the other hand, the 'criticality' hypothesis posits an explanation of the more coordinated state that also requires a certain balance of excitatory and inhibitory interactions. Both hypotheses claim the same qualitative mechanism-properly balanced excitation and inhibition. Thus, a natural question arises: how are asynchronous population dynamics and critical dynamics related, how do they differ? Here we propose an answer to this question based on investigation of a simple, network-level computational model. We show that the strength of inhibitory synapses relative to excitatory synapses can be tuned from weak to strong to generate a family of models that spans a continuum from critical dynamics to asynchronous dynamics. Our results demonstrate that the coordinated dynamics of criticality and asynchronous dynamics can be generated by the same neural system if excitatory and inhibitory synapses are tuned appropriately.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingwen Li
- Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States of America
| | - Woodrow L. Shew
- Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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22
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Ma Z, Liu H, Komiyama T, Wessel R. Stability of motor cortex network states during learning-associated neural reorganizations. J Neurophysiol 2020; 124:1327-1342. [PMID: 32937084 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00061.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A substantial reorganization of neural activity and neuron-to-movement relationship in motor cortical circuits accompanies the emergence of reproducible movement patterns during motor learning. Little is known about how this tempest of neural activity restructuring impacts the stability of network states in recurrent cortical circuits. To investigate this issue, we reanalyzed data in which we recorded for 14 days via population calcium imaging the activity of the same neural populations of pyramidal neurons in layer 2/3 and layer 5 of forelimb motor and premotor cortex in mice during the daily learning of a lever-press task. We found that motor cortex network states remained stable with respect to the critical network state during the extensive reorganization of both neural population activity and its relation to lever movement throughout learning. Specifically, layer 2/3 cortical circuits unceasingly displayed robust evidence for operating at the critical network state, a regime that maximizes information capacity and transmission and provides a balance between network robustness and flexibility. In contrast, layer 5 circuits operated away from the critical network state for all 14 days of recording and learning. In conclusion, this result indicates that the wide-ranging malleability of synapses, neurons, and neural connectivity during learning operates within the constraint of a stable and layer-specific network state regarding dynamic criticality, and suggests that different cortical layers operate under distinct constraints because of their specialized goals.NEW & NOTEWORTHY The neural activity reorganizes throughout motor learning, but how this reorganization impacts the stability of network states is unclear. We used two-photon calcium imaging to investigate how the network states in layer 2/3 and layer 5 of forelimb motor and premotor cortex are modulated by motor learning. We show that motor cortex network states are layer-specific and constant regarding criticality during neural activity reorganization, and suggests that layer-specific constraints could be motivated by different functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhengyu Ma
- Department of Physics, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri
| | - Haixin Liu
- Neurobiology Section and Department of Neuroscience, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Takaki Komiyama
- Neurobiology Section and Department of Neuroscience, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California
| | - Ralf Wessel
- Department of Physics, Washington University in St. Louis, Saint Louis, Missouri
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23
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Temporal Signatures of Criticality in Human Cortical Excitability as Probed by Early Somatosensory Responses. J Neurosci 2020; 40:6572-6583. [PMID: 32719161 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0241-20.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Revised: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain responses vary considerably from moment to moment, even to identical sensory stimuli. This has been attributed to changes in instantaneous neuronal states determining the system's excitability. Yet the spatiotemporal organization of these dynamics remains poorly understood. Here we test whether variability in stimulus-evoked activity can be interpreted within the framework of criticality, which postulates dynamics of neural systems to be tuned toward the phase transition between stability and instability as is reflected in scale-free fluctuations in spontaneous neural activity. Using a novel noninvasive approach in 33 male human participants, we tracked instantaneous cortical excitability by inferring the magnitude of excitatory postsynaptic currents from the N20 component of the somatosensory evoked potential. Fluctuations of cortical excitability demonstrated long-range temporal dependencies decaying according to a power law across trials, a hallmark of systems at critical states. As these dynamics covaried with changes in prestimulus oscillatory activity in the alpha band (8-13 Hz), we establish a mechanistic link between ongoing and evoked activity through cortical excitability and argue that the co-emergence of common temporal power laws may indeed originate from neural networks poised close to a critical state. In contrast, no signatures of criticality were found in subcortical or peripheral nerve activity. Thus, criticality may represent a parsimonious organizing principle of variability in stimulus-related brain processes on a cortical level, possibly reflecting a delicate equilibrium between robustness and flexibility of neural responses to external stimuli.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Variability of neural responses in primary sensory areas is puzzling, as it is detrimental to the exact mapping between stimulus features and neural activity. However, such variability can be beneficial for information processing in neural networks if it is of a specific nature, namely, if dynamics are poised at a so-called critical state characterized by a scale-free spatiotemporal structure. Here, we demonstrate the existence of a link between signatures of criticality in ongoing and evoked activity through cortical excitability, which fills the long-standing gap between two major directions of research on neural variability: the impact of instantaneous brain states on stimulus processing on the one hand and the scale-free organization of spatiotemporal network dynamics of spontaneous activity on the other.
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24
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Antiepileptic drugs induce subcritical dynamics in human cortical networks. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2020; 117:11118-11125. [PMID: 32358198 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1911461117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cortical network functioning critically depends on finely tuned interactions to afford neuronal activity propagation over long distances while avoiding runaway excitation. This importance is highlighted by the pathological consequences and impaired performance resulting from aberrant network excitability in psychiatric and neurological diseases, such as epilepsy. Theory and experiment suggest that the control of activity propagation by network interactions can be adequately described by a branching process. This hypothesis is partially supported by strong evidence for balanced spatiotemporal dynamics observed in the cerebral cortex; however, evidence of a causal relationship between network interactions and cortex activity, as predicted by a branching process, is missing in humans. Here this cause-effect relationship is tested by monitoring cortex activity under systematic pharmacological reduction of cortical network interactions with antiepileptic drugs. This study reports that cortical activity cascades, presented by the propagating patterns of epileptic spikes, as well as temporal correlations decline precisely as predicted for a branching process. The results provide a missing link to the branching process theory of cortical network function with implications for understanding the foundations of cortical excitability and its monitoring in conditions like epilepsy.
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25
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Jannesari M, Saeedi A, Zare M, Ortiz-Mantilla S, Plenz D, Benasich AA. Stability of neuronal avalanches and long-range temporal correlations during the first year of life in human infants. Brain Struct Funct 2020; 225:1169-1183. [PMID: 32095901 PMCID: PMC7166209 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-019-02014-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
During infancy, the human brain rapidly expands in size and complexity as neural networks mature and new information is incorporated at an accelerating pace. Recently, it was shown that single-electrode EEG in preterms at birth exhibits scale-invariant intermittent bursts. Yet, it is currently not known whether the normal infant brain, in particular, the cortex, maintains a distinct dynamical state during development that is characterized by scale-invariant spatial as well as temporal aspects. Here we employ dense-array EEG recordings acquired from the same infants at 6 and 12 months of age to characterize brain activity during an auditory odd-ball task. We show that suprathreshold events organize as spatiotemporal clusters whose size and duration are power-law distributed, the hallmark of neuronal avalanches. Time series of local suprathreshold EEG events display significant long-range temporal correlations (LRTCs). No differences were found between 6 and 12 months, demonstrating stability of avalanche dynamics and LRTCs during the first year after birth. These findings demonstrate that the infant brain is characterized by distinct spatiotemporal dynamical aspects that are in line with expectations of a critical cortical state. We suggest that critical state dynamics, which theory and experiments have shown to be beneficial for numerous aspects of information processing, are maintained by the infant brain to process an increasingly complex environment during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mostafa Jannesari
- School of Computer Science, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), 70 Lavasani Avenue, Tehran, 19395, Iran
| | - Alireza Saeedi
- Department of Physiology of Cognitive Processes, Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marzieh Zare
- School of Computer Science, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), 70 Lavasani Avenue, Tehran, 19395, Iran.
| | - Silvia Ortiz-Mantilla
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA
| | - Dietmar Plenz
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, Laboratory of Systems Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, MSC 3735, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - April A Benasich
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA
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26
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The scale-invariant, temporal profile of neuronal avalanches in relation to cortical γ-oscillations. Sci Rep 2019; 9:16403. [PMID: 31712632 PMCID: PMC6848117 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-52326-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Activity cascades are found in many complex systems. In the cortex, they arise in the form of neuronal avalanches that capture ongoing and evoked neuronal activities at many spatial and temporal scales. The scale-invariant nature of avalanches suggests that the brain is in a critical state, yet predictions from critical theory on the temporal unfolding of avalanches have yet to be confirmed in vivo. Here we show in awake nonhuman primates that the temporal profile of avalanches follows a symmetrical, inverted parabola spanning up to hundreds of milliseconds. This parabola constrains how avalanches initiate locally, extend spatially and shrink as they evolve in time. Importantly, parabolas of different durations can be collapsed with a scaling exponent close to 2 supporting critical generational models of neuronal avalanches. Spontaneously emerging, transient γ-oscillations coexist with and modulate these avalanche parabolas thereby providing a temporal segmentation to inherently scale-invariant, critical dynamics. Our results identify avalanches and oscillations as dual principles in the temporal organization of brain activity.
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27
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Zeng G, Huang X, Jiang T, Yu S. Short-term synaptic plasticity expands the operational range of long-term synaptic changes in neural networks. Neural Netw 2019; 118:140-147. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neunet.2019.06.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2018] [Revised: 04/23/2019] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
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28
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Bocaccio H, Pallavicini C, Castro MN, Sánchez SM, De Pino G, Laufs H, Villarreal MF, Tagliazucchi E. The avalanche-like behaviour of large-scale haemodynamic activity from wakefulness to deep sleep. J R Soc Interface 2019; 16:20190262. [PMID: 31506046 PMCID: PMC6769314 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2019.0262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Accepted: 08/08/2019] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that responsiveness is associated with critical or near-critical cortical dynamics, which exhibit scale-free cascades of spatio-temporal activity. These cascades, or 'avalanches', have been detected at multiple scales, from in vitro and in vivo microcircuits to voltage imaging and brain-wide functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) recordings. Criticality endows the cortex with certain information-processing capacities postulated as necessary for conscious wakefulness, yet it remains unknown how unresponsiveness impacts on the avalanche-like behaviour of large-scale human haemodynamic activity. We observed a scale-free hierarchy of co-activated connected clusters by applying a point-process transformation to fMRI data recorded during wakefulness and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. Maximum-likelihood estimates revealed a significant effect of sleep stage on the scaling parameters of the cluster size power-law distributions. Post hoc statistical tests showed that differences were maximal between wakefulness and N2 sleep. These results were robust against spatial coarse graining, fitting alternative statistical models and different point-process thresholds, and disappeared upon phase shuffling the fMRI time series. Evoked neural bistabilities preventing arousals during N2 sleep do not suffice to explain these differences, which point towards changes in the intrinsic dynamics of the brain that could be necessary to consolidate a state of deep unresponsiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- H. Bocaccio
- Grupo de Investigación en Neurociencias Aplicadas a las Alteraciones de la Conducta, Instituto de Neurociencias FLENI-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Física, FCEyN, UBA, e Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires (IFIBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - C. Pallavicini
- Grupo de Investigación en Neurociencias Aplicadas a las Alteraciones de la Conducta, Instituto de Neurociencias FLENI-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Física, FCEyN, UBA, e Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires (IFIBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - M. N. Castro
- Grupo de Investigación en Neurociencias Aplicadas a las Alteraciones de la Conducta, Instituto de Neurociencias FLENI-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina, UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento Salud Mental, Unidad Docente FLENI, Facultad de Medicina, UBA, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - S. M. Sánchez
- Grupo de Investigación en Neurociencias Aplicadas a las Alteraciones de la Conducta, Instituto de Neurociencias FLENI-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Física, FCEyN, UBA, e Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires (IFIBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - G. De Pino
- Grupo de Investigación en Neurociencias Aplicadas a las Alteraciones de la Conducta, Instituto de Neurociencias FLENI-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Laboratorio de Neuroimágenes, Departamento de Imágenes, FLENI, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Escuela de Ciencia y Tecnología (ECyT), Universidad Nacional de San Martín, Argentina
| | - H. Laufs
- Department of Neurology, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany
| | - M. F. Villarreal
- Grupo de Investigación en Neurociencias Aplicadas a las Alteraciones de la Conducta, Instituto de Neurociencias FLENI-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Física, FCEyN, UBA, e Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires (IFIBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - E. Tagliazucchi
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina
- Departamento de Física, FCEyN, UBA, e Instituto de Física de Buenos Aires (IFIBA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
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29
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Wilting J, Priesemann V. 25 years of criticality in neuroscience - established results, open controversies, novel concepts. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2019; 58:105-111. [PMID: 31546053 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 08/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Twenty-five years ago, Dunkelmann and Radons (1994) showed that neural networks can self-organize to a critical state. In models, the critical state offers a number of computational advantages. Thus this hypothesis, and in particular the experimental work by Beggs and Plenz (2003), has triggered an avalanche of research, with thousands of studies referring to it. Nonetheless, experimental results are still contradictory. How is it possible, that a hypothesis has attracted active research for decades, but nonetheless remains controversial? We discuss the experimental and conceptual controversy, and then present a parsimonious solution that (i) unifies the contradictory experimental results, (ii) avoids disadvantages of a critical state, and (iii) enables rapid, adaptive tuning of network properties to task requirements.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Wilting
- Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany
| | - V Priesemann
- Max-Planck-Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen, Germany; Bernstein-Center for Computational Neuroscience, Göttingen, Germany
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30
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Arviv O, Goldstein A, Shriki O. Neuronal avalanches and time-frequency representations in stimulus-evoked activity. Sci Rep 2019; 9:13319. [PMID: 31527749 PMCID: PMC6746755 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-49788-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2019] [Accepted: 08/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuronal avalanches are a hallmark feature of critical dynamics in the brain. While the theoretical framework of a critical branching processes is generally accepted for describing avalanches during ongoing brain activity, there is a current debate about the corresponding dynamical description during stimulus-evoked activity. As the brain activity evoked by external stimuli considerably varies in magnitude across time, it is not clear whether the parameters that govern the neuronal avalanche analysis (a threshold or a temporal scale) should be adaptively altered to accommodate these changes. Here, the relationship between neuronal avalanches and time-frequency representations of stimulus-evoked activity is explored. We show that neuronal avalanche metrics, calculated under a fixed threshold and temporal scale, reflect genuine changes in the underlying dynamics. In particular, event-related synchronization and de-synchronization are shown to align with variations in the power-law exponents of avalanche size distributions and the branching parameter (neural gain), as well as in the spatio-temporal spreading of avalanches. Nonetheless, the scale-invariant behavior associated with avalanches is shown to be a robust feature of healthy brain dynamics, preserved across various periods of stimulus-evoked activity and frequency bands. Taken together, the combined results suggest that throughout stimulus-evoked responses the operating point of the dynamics may drift within an extended-critical-like region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oshrit Arviv
- Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. .,The Inter-Faculty School for Brain Sciences, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel. .,The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.
| | - Abraham Goldstein
- The Leslie and Susan Gonda (Goldschmied) Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel.,Department of Psychology, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Oren Shriki
- Department of Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.,The Inter-Faculty School for Brain Sciences, Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel.,Department of Computer Science, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
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31
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Bowen Z, Winkowski DE, Seshadri S, Plenz D, Kanold PO. Neuronal Avalanches in Input and Associative Layers of Auditory Cortex. Front Syst Neurosci 2019; 13:45. [PMID: 31551721 PMCID: PMC6737089 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2019.00045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2019] [Accepted: 08/16/2019] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The primary auditory cortex processes acoustic sequences for the perception of behaviorally meaningful sounds such as speech. Sound information arrives at its input layer four from where activity propagates to associative layer 2/3. It is currently not known whether there is a characteristic organization of neuronal population activity across layers and sound levels during sound processing. Here, we identify neuronal avalanches, which in theory and experiments have been shown to maximize dynamic range and optimize information transfer within and across networks, in primary auditory cortex. We used in vivo 2-photon imaging of pyramidal neurons in cortical layers L4 and L2/3 of mouse A1 to characterize the populations of neurons that were active spontaneously, i.e., in the absence of a sound stimulus, and those recruited by single-frequency tonal stimuli at different sound levels. Single-frequency sounds recruited neurons of widely ranging frequency selectivity in both layers. We defined neuronal ensembles as neurons being active within or during successive temporal windows at the temporal resolution of our imaging. For both layers, neuronal ensembles were highly variable in size during spontaneous activity as well as during sound presentation. Ensemble sizes distributed according to power laws, the hallmark of neuronal avalanches, and were similar across sound levels. Avalanches activated by sound were composed of neurons with diverse tuning preference, yet with selectivity independent of avalanche size. Our results suggest that optimization principles identified for avalanches guide population activity in L4 and L2/3 of auditory cortex during and in-between stimulus processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zac Bowen
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Daniel E Winkowski
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States.,Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Saurav Seshadri
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Dietmar Plenz
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, United States
| | - Patrick O Kanold
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States.,Institute for Systems Research, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
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32
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Jannesari M, Saeedi A, Zare M, Ortiz-Mantilla S, Plenz D, Benasich AA. Stability of neuronal avalanches and long-range temporal correlations during the first year of life in human infant. Brain Struct Funct 2019; 224:2453-2465. [PMID: 31267171 PMCID: PMC6698269 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-019-01918-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
During infancy, the human brain rapidly expands in size and complexity as neural networks mature and new information is incorporated at an accelerating pace. Recently, it was shown that single electrode EEG in preterms at birth exhibits scale-invariant intermittent bursts. Yet, it is currently not known whether the normal infant brain, in particular, the cortex maintains a distinct dynamical state during development that is characterized by scale-invariant spatial as well as temporal aspects. Here we employ dense-array EEG recordings acquired from the same infants at 6 and 12 months of age to characterize brain activity during an auditory oddball task. We show that suprathreshold events organize as spatiotemporal clusters whose size and duration are power-law distributed, the hallmark of neuronal avalanches. Time series of local suprathreshold EEG events display significant long-range temporal correlations (LRTCs). No differences were found between 6 and 12 months, demonstrating stability of avalanche dynamics and LRTCs during the first year after birth. These findings demonstrate that the infant brain is characterized by distinct spatiotemporal dynamical aspects that are in line with expectations of a critical cortical state. We suggest that critical state dynamics, which theory and experiments have shown to be beneficial for numerous aspects of information processing, are maintained by the infant brain to process an increasingly complex environment during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mostafa Jannesari
- School of Computer Science, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), 70 Lavasani Avenue, Tehran, 19395, Iran
| | - Alireza Saeedi
- Department of Physiology of Cognitive Processes, Max-Planck-Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
| | - Marzieh Zare
- School of Computer Science, Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (IPM), 70 Lavasani Avenue, Tehran, 19395, Iran.
| | - Silvia Ortiz-Mantilla
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA
| | - Dietmar Plenz
- Section on Critical Brain Dynamics, Laboratory of Systems Neuroscience, National Institute of Mental Health, Porter Neuroscience Research Center, MSC 3735, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - April A Benasich
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University-Newark, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA
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33
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Wang R, Lin P, Liu M, Wu Y, Zhou T, Zhou C. Hierarchical Connectome Modes and Critical State Jointly Maximize Human Brain Functional Diversity. PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS 2019; 123:038301. [PMID: 31386449 DOI: 10.1103/physrevlett.123.038301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Revised: 06/05/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The brain requires diverse segregated and integrated processing to perform normal functions in terms of anatomical structure and self-organized dynamics with critical features, but the fundamental relationships between the complex structural connectome, critical state, and functional diversity remain unknown. Herein, we extend the eigenmode analysis to investigate the joint contribution of hierarchical modular structural organization and critical state to brain functional diversity. We show that the structural modes inherent to the hierarchical modular structural connectome allow a nested functional segregation and integration across multiple spatiotemporal scales. The real brain hierarchical modular organization provides large structural capacity for diverse functional interactions, which are generated by sequentially activating and recruiting the hierarchical connectome modes, and the critical state can best explore the capacity to maximize the functional diversity. Our results reveal structural and dynamical mechanisms that jointly support a balanced segregated and integrated brain processing with diverse functional interactions, and they also shed light on dysfunctional segregation and integration in neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rong Wang
- State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, Shaanxi Engineering Laboratory for Vibration Control of Aerospace Structures, School of Aerospace Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
- Department of Physics, Centre for Nonlinear Studies and Beijing-Hong Kong-Singapore Joint Centre for Nonlinear and Complex Systems (Hong Kong), Institute of Computational and Theoretical Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
- College of Science, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, Xi'an 710054, China
| | - Pan Lin
- Key Laboratory of Cognitive Science, College of Biomedical Engineering, South-Central University for Nationalities, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Mianxin Liu
- Department of Physics, Centre for Nonlinear Studies and Beijing-Hong Kong-Singapore Joint Centre for Nonlinear and Complex Systems (Hong Kong), Institute of Computational and Theoretical Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
| | - Ying Wu
- State Key Laboratory for Strength and Vibration of Mechanical Structures, Shaanxi Engineering Laboratory for Vibration Control of Aerospace Structures, School of Aerospace Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710049, China
| | - Tao Zhou
- Complex Lab, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, People's Republic of China
| | - Changsong Zhou
- Department of Physics, Centre for Nonlinear Studies and Beijing-Hong Kong-Singapore Joint Centre for Nonlinear and Complex Systems (Hong Kong), Institute of Computational and Theoretical Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong
- Research Centre, HKBU Institute of Research and Continuing Education, Shenzhen 518057, China
- Beijing Computational Science Research Center, Beijing 100084, China
- Department of Physics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
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34
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Hu G, Huang X, Jiang T, Yu S. Multi-Scale Expressions of One Optimal State Regulated by Dopamine in the Prefrontal Cortex. Front Physiol 2019; 10:113. [PMID: 30873039 PMCID: PMC6404637 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex (PFC), which plays key roles in many higher cognitive processes, is a hierarchical system consisting of multi-scale organizations. Optimizing the working state at each scale is essential for PFC's information processing. Typical optimal working states at different scales have been separately reported, including the dopamine-mediated inverted-U profile of the working memory (WM) at the system level, critical dynamics at the network level, and detailed balance of excitatory and inhibitory currents (E/I balance) at the cellular level. However, it remains unclear whether these states are scale-specific expressions of the same optimal state and, if so, what is the underlying mechanism for its regulation traversing across scales. Here, by studying a neural network model, we show that the optimal performance of WM co-occurs with the critical dynamics at the network level and the E/I balance at the level of individual neurons, suggesting the existence of a unified, multi-scale optimal state for the PFC. Importantly, such a state could be modulated by dopamine at the synaptic level through a series of U or inverted-U profiles. These results suggest that seemingly different optimal states for specific scales are multi-scale expressions of one condition regulated by dopamine. Our work suggests a cross-scale perspective to understand the PFC function and its modulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guyue Hu
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xuhui Huang
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Research Center for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Tianzi Jiang
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Shan Yu
- Brainnetome Center, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,National Laboratory of Pattern Recognition, Institute of Automation, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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35
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Agrawal V, Chakraborty S, Knöpfel T, Shew WL. Scale-Change Symmetry in the Rules Governing Neural Systems. iScience 2019; 12:121-131. [PMID: 30682624 PMCID: PMC6352707 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2019.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Revised: 12/05/2018] [Accepted: 01/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Similar universal phenomena can emerge in different complex systems when those systems share a common symmetry in their governing laws. In physical systems operating near a critical phase transition, the governing physical laws obey a fractal symmetry; they are the same whether considered at fine or coarse scales. This scale-change symmetry is responsible for universal critical phenomena found across diverse systems. Experiments suggest that the cerebral cortex can also operate near a critical phase transition. Thus we hypothesize that the laws governing cortical dynamics may obey scale-change symmetry. Here we develop a practical approach to test this hypothesis. We confirm, using two different computational models, that neural dynamical laws exhibit scale-change symmetry near a dynamical phase transition. Moreover, we show that as a mouse awakens from anesthesia, scale-change symmetry emerges. Scale-change symmetry of the rules governing cortical dynamics may explain observations of similar critical phenomena across diverse neural systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vidit Agrawal
- Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
| | - Srimoy Chakraborty
- Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
| | - Thomas Knöpfel
- Laboratory for Neuronal Circuit Dynamics, Faculty of Medicine Imperial College London, London W12 0NN, UK; Centre for Neurotechnology, Institute of Biomedical Engineering, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Woodrow L Shew
- Department of Physics, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.
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36
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Ponce-Alvarez A, Jouary A, Privat M, Deco G, Sumbre G. Whole-Brain Neuronal Activity Displays Crackling Noise Dynamics. Neuron 2018; 100:1446-1459.e6. [PMID: 30449656 PMCID: PMC6307982 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2018.10.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2018] [Revised: 07/05/2018] [Accepted: 10/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies suggest that the brain operates at a critical point in which phases of order and disorder coexist, producing emergent patterned dynamics at all scales and optimizing several brain functions. Here, we combined light-sheet microscopy with GCaMP zebrafish larvae to study whole-brain dynamics in vivo at near single-cell resolution. We show that spontaneous activity propagates in the brain's three-dimensional space, generating scale-invariant neuronal avalanches with time courses and recurrence times that exhibit statistical self-similarity at different magnitude, temporal, and frequency scales. This suggests that the nervous system operates close to a non-equilibrium phase transition, where a large repertoire of spatial, temporal, and interactive modes can be supported. Finally, we show that gap junctions contribute to the maintenance of criticality and that, during interactions with the environment (sensory inputs and self-generated behaviors), the system is transiently displaced to a more ordered regime, conceivably to limit the potential sensory representations and motor outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrián Ponce-Alvarez
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08005, Spain.
| | - Adrien Jouary
- Institut de biologie de l'Ecole normale supérieure (IBENS), Ecole normale supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Université Paris, Paris 75005, France; Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown, Lisbon 1400-038, Portugal
| | - Martin Privat
- Institut de biologie de l'Ecole normale supérieure (IBENS), Ecole normale supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Université Paris, Paris 75005, France
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Center for Brain and Cognition, Computational Neuroscience Group, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona 08005, Spain; Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA), Barcelona 08010, Spain; Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig 04103, Germany; School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Clayton VIC 3800, Australia
| | - Germán Sumbre
- Institut de biologie de l'Ecole normale supérieure (IBENS), Ecole normale supérieure, CNRS, INSERM, PSL Université Paris, Paris 75005, France.
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