BookNergis Tomen, J. Michael Herrmann, Udo Ernst, editors.
Summary: This book offers a timely overview of theories and methods developed by an authoritative group of researchers to understand the link between criticality and brain functioning. Cortical information processing in particular and brain function in general rely heavily on the collective dynamics of neurons and networks distributed over many brain areas. A key concept for characterizing and understanding brain dynamics is the idea that networks operate near a critical state, which offers several potential benefits for computation and information processing. However, there is still a large gap between research on criticality and understanding brain function. For example, cortical networks are not homogeneous but highly structured, they are not in a state of spontaneous activation but strongly driven by changing external stimuli, and they process information with respect to behavioral goals. So far the questions relating to how critical dynamics may support computation in this complex setting, and whether they can outperform other information processing schemes remain open. Based on the workshop "Dynamical Network States, Criticality and Cortical Function", held in March 2017 at the Hanse Institute for Advanced Studies (HWK) in Delmenhorst, Germany, the book provides readers with extensive information on these topics, as well as tools and ideas to answer the above-mentioned questions. It is meant for physicists, computational and systems neuroscientists, and biologists.
Contents:
Intro; Foreword; Contents; Introduction; Background; Facets of Criticality; Criticality and the Brain; List of Reviewers in Alphabetical Order; Avalanche Dynamics and Correlations in Neural Systems; 1 Introduction; 2 Avalanche Activity and Power Spectra; 2.1 Neuronal Model and Avalanche Activity; 2.2 Power Spectra; 3 Inter-event Time Distributions; 3.1 Up-States and Down-States; 3.2 Avalanches and Oscillations; 4 Detrended Fluctuation Analysis; 5 Conditional Probability Analysis; 6 Conclusions; References 2.2 Plasticity Mechanisms2.3 External Input; 2.4 Readout Layer and Performance Evaluation; 2.5 Fading Memory Time Scale Estimation; 2.6 SORN Variants; 3 Spontaneous Activity: Self-Organization Towards Avalanche Criticality; 4 External Input: Readaptation and Learning; 5 A Link Between Neuronal Avalanches and Fading Memory; 6 Discussion; References; Homeostatic Structural Plasticity Can Build Critical Networks; 1 Introduction; 2 The Neuritic Field Model; 2.1 Model at a Glance; 2.2 Neuronal Activity; 2.3 Outgrowth and Connectivity; 2.4 Network Assembly, Overshoot and Homeostasis 2.5 Analytical Relationship Between Activity and Connectivity 3 In Vitro Cortical Cultures Show Different Dynamical States During Development4 Not All Mature Cortical Cultures Display Self-organized Criticality; 5 Complex Network Topologies Promote Self-organized Criticality in Cortical Assemblies; 5.1 Scale-Free Networks with Small-Worldness Features Promote Self-organized Criticality; 6 Conclusions; References; From Neurons to Networks: Critical Slowing Down Governs Information Processing Across Vigilance States; 1 Introduction; 2 The Theory of Critical Slowing Down; 3 Critical Slowing Down in Individual Neurons 4 Critical Slowing Down in Cortical Networks Is Maintained by Sleep5 Summary and Outlook; References; The Challenge of Taming a Latching Network Near Criticality; 1 Introduction; 2 The Model; 2.1 Interactions; 2.2 Dynamics; 2.3 Memories; 3 Imparting Latching Instructions with an Associative Learning Rule; 4 The Effect of Hetero-Associative Instructions on Latching Dynamics; 5 Instructed Versus Spontaneous Latching Transitions; 6 Conclusion; References; Fading Memory, Plasticity, and Criticality in Recurrent Networks; 1 Introduction; 2 Self-Organizing Recurrent Networks; 2.1 Model Dynamics Playing at the Edge of Criticality: Expanded Whole-Brain Repertoire of Connectome-Harmonics1 Introduction; 2 Oscillations, Synchrony and Harmonics in Brain Activity; 3 Synchrony in Biological Oscillators; 4 Whole-Brain Criticality and the Repertoire of Connectome Harmonics; 5 Discussion; References; Complexity of Network Connectivity Promotes Self-organized Criticality in Cortical Ensembles; 1 Introduction; 2 Micro-electrode Array (MEA) Technology for Recording Electrophysiological Activity from Large-Scale Neuronal Ensembles