The cortex and the critical point : understanding the power of emergence / John M. Beggs.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Beggs, John M., author.

Series:

The MIT Press

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Cerebral cortex.

Brain.

Neurology.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (217 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge The MIT Press 2022

Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2022]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"A survey of the criticality hypothesis which imports theory from physics to understand the brain and could be a grand unifying theory of the brain at a time when neuroscience is dominated by data"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Intro

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Critical Point in Context

The Goals and Structure of This Book

I. Background

1. The Main Idea

A Simple Model

Optimal Information Processing

The Appearance of Emergent Phenomena

Power Laws

Avalanches

A Phase Transition

From a Model to Data

The Criticality Hypothesis

Objections and Responses to the Criticality Hypothesis

Chapter Summary

2. Emergent Phenomena

Methodological Reductionism

The Wave as an Emergent Phenomenon

Emergent Phenomena in the Brain

A Simple Model of Emergent Phenomena in the Brain

Complex Emergent Phenomena Occur at a Phase Transition

More Complex Emergent Phenomena?

How to Study Emergent Phenomena

II. The Critical Point and Its Consequences

3. The Critical Point

The Branching Model: A Branching Ratio Near 1

The Branching Model: A Phase Transition with Control and Order Parameters

The Branching Model: An Exponent Relation between Multiple Power Laws

The Branching Model: Fractal Copies of Avalanches

Signatures of Being near the Critical Point

Signatures of the Critical Point from the Data

In Vitro Experiments

Data: A Branching Ratio near 1

Data: A Phase Transition with Control and Order Parameters

Data: An Exponent Relation between Multiple Power Laws

Data: Fractal Copies of Avalanches

Objections to These Signatures of Criticality

4. Optimality

The Branching Model: Information Transmission

The Branching Model: Dynamic Range

The Branching Model: Susceptibility

Data: Dynamic Range

Data: Information Transmission

Data: Susceptibility

Other Predictions Yet to Be Tested

5. Universality

Universality in Physical Systems

Universality in the Cortex: Indicators.

Indicators Seen across Species

Indicators Seen across Scales

Described by a Simple Model

III. Future Directions

6. Homeostasis and Health

Homeostasis toward the Critical Point after a Major Perturbation

Sleep and Homeostasis toward the Critical Point

Sensory Adaptation toward the Critical Point

Development toward the Critical Point

Themes from Homeostasis Results

Health

7. Quasicriticality

Universality: Unfinished Issues

A Possible Solution: Quasicriticality

Another View: Slightly Subcritical

Another View: Subsampling

Another View: Griffiths Phase

8. Cortex

The Expansion of Cortical Area

Associations of Associations

The Special Role of Layers 2 and 3

Multifunctionality and the Critical Point

Nearly Critical in Layers 2 and 3, but Not in Layer 5

Staying Nearly Critical While Learning

Timescales throughout the Hierarchy

9. Epilogue

What We Know

What We Don't Know

Frontier Issues

What I Did Not Cover

Appendix

Relation between Power-Law Exponent and Slope (Chapters 1 and 6)

When the Average Value of a Power Law Diverges and When It Does Not (Chapters 1 and 6)

Long-Range Temporal Correlations (Chapters 1, 6, and 8)

Informal Derivation of the Exponent Relation (Chapters 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8)

Avalanche Shape Collapse (Chapters 3, 5, 6, and 8)

How to Quantify Network Dynamics (Chapters 4 and 8)

Software and Data for Exercises and Analyses

Notes

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

References

Index.

Notes:

OCLC-licensed vendor bibliographic record.

ISBN:

0-262-37034-4

OCLC:

1333708308