Research report 2009 - Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization

The brain on the edge of chaos

Authors
Levina, Anna; Herrmann, Michael J.; Geisel, Theo
Departments

Nichtlineare Dynamik (Prof. Dr. Theo Geisel)
MPI für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation, Göttingen

Summary
The general principles that underlie the function and structure of the brain are not yet fully understood. Recent experimental findings put forward one of the theoretical hypothesis, namely that cortical networks are organized such that they keep themselves near the so called critical point. In many different contests it was shown, that the critical state can be beneficial for brain functions, for example by optimizing sensitivity to the external input. We study analytically and numerically how the neuronal network can reach and maintain criticality.

For the full text, see the German version.

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