dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaNonlinear brain dynamics as macroscopic manifestation of underlying many-body field dynamics
| Authors | Walter J. Freeman, Giuseppe Vitiello |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | q-bio/0511037 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0511037 |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.plrev.2006.02.001 |
| Journal | Physics of Life Reviews 3, 93-118 (2006) |
Abstract
Neural activity patterns related to behavior occur at many scales in time and space from the atomic and molecular to the whole brain. Here we explore the feasibility of interpreting neurophysiological data in the context of many-body physics by using tools that physicists have devised to analyze comparable hierarchies in other fields of science. We focus on a mesoscopic level that offers a multi-step pathway between the microscopic functions of neurons and the macroscopic functions of brain systems revealed by hemodynamic imaging. We use electroencephalographic (EEG) records collected from high-density electrode arrays fixed on the epidural surfaces of primary sensory and limbic areas in rabbits and cats trained to discriminate conditioned stimuli (CS) in the various modalities. High temporal resolution of EEG signals with the Hilbert transform gives evidence for diverse intermittent spatial patterns of amplitude (AM) and phase modulations (PM) of carrier waves that repeatedly re-synchronize in the beta and gamma ranges at near zero time lags over long distances. The dominant mechanism for neural interactions by axodendritic synaptic transmission should impose distance-dependent delays on the EEG oscillations owing to finite propagation velocities. It does not. EEGs instead show evidence for anomalous dispersion: the existence in neural populations of a low velocity range of information and energy transfers, and a high velocity range of the spread of phase transitions. This distinction labels the phenomenon but does not explain it. In this report we explore the analysis of these phenomena using concepts of energy dissipation, the maintenance by cortex of multiple ground states corresponding to AM patterns, and the exclusive selection by spontaneous breakdown of symmetry (SBS) of single states in sequences.
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"abstract": "Neural activity patterns related to behavior occur at many scales in time and\nspace from the atomic and molecular to the whole brain. Here we explore the\nfeasibility of interpreting neurophysiological data in the context of many-body\nphysics by using tools that physicists have devised to analyze comparable\nhierarchies in other fields of science. We focus on a mesoscopic level that\noffers a multi-step pathway between the microscopic functions of neurons and\nthe macroscopic functions of brain systems revealed by hemodynamic imaging. We\nuse electroencephalographic (EEG) records collected from high-density electrode\narrays fixed on the epidural surfaces of primary sensory and limbic areas in\nrabbits and cats trained to discriminate conditioned stimuli (CS) in the\nvarious modalities. High temporal resolution of EEG signals with the Hilbert\ntransform gives evidence for diverse intermittent spatial patterns of amplitude\n(AM) and phase modulations (PM) of carrier waves that repeatedly re-synchronize\nin the beta and gamma ranges at near zero time lags over long distances. The\ndominant mechanism for neural interactions by axodendritic synaptic\ntransmission should impose distance-dependent delays on the EEG oscillations\nowing to finite propagation velocities. It does not. EEGs instead show evidence\nfor anomalous dispersion: the existence in neural populations of a low velocity\nrange of information and energy transfers, and a high velocity range of the\nspread of phase transitions. This distinction labels the phenomenon but does\nnot explain it. In this report we explore the analysis of these phenomena using\nconcepts of energy dissipation, the maintenance by cortex of multiple ground\nstates corresponding to AM patterns, and the exclusive selection by spontaneous\nbreakdown of symmetry (SBS) of single states in sequences.",
"arxiv_id": "q-bio/0511037",
"authors": [
"Walter J. Freeman",
"Giuseppe Vitiello"
],
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"doi": "10.1016/j.plrev.2006.02.001",
"journal_ref": "Physics of Life Reviews 3, 93-118 (2006)",
"title": "Nonlinear brain dynamics as macroscopic manifestation of underlying many-body field dynamics",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/q-bio/0511037"
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