The Cortex and the Critical Point : Understanding the Power of Emergence

John M. Beggs

ISBN 10: 0262544032 / ISBN 13: 9780262544030

Edité par MIT Press Ltd Aug 2022, 2022

A propos de cet article

Neuware - How the cerebral cortex operates near a critical phase transition point for optimum performance.Individual neurons have limited computational powers, but when they work together, it is almost like magic. Firing synchronously and then breaking off to improvise by themselves, they can be paradoxically both independent and interdependent. This happens near the critical point: when neurons are poised between a phase where activity is damped and a phase where it is amplified, where information processing is optimized, and complex emergent activity patterns arise. The claim that neurons in the cortex work best when they operate near the critical point is known as the criticality hypothesis. In this book John Beggs one of the pioneers of this hypothesis offers an introduction to the critical point and its relevance to the brain.Drawing on recent experimental evidence, Beggs first explains the main ideas underlying the criticality hypotheses and emergent phenomena. He then discusses the critical point and its two main consequences first, scale-free properties that confer optimum information processing; and second, universality, or the idea that complex emergent phenomena, like that seen near the critical point, can be explained by relatively simple models that are applicable across species and scale. Finally, Beggs considers future directions for the field, including research on homeostatic regulation, quasicriticality, and the expansion of the cortex and intelligence. An appendix provides technical material; many chapters include exercises that use freely available code and data sets.

N° de réf. du vendeur 9780262544030

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: The Cortex and the Critical Point : Understanding the Power of Emergence
• Éditeur: MIT Press Ltd Aug 2022
• Date de parution: 2022
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN à 10 chiffres: 0262544032
• ISBN à 13 chiffres: 9780262544030
• Reliure: Taschenbuch
• État de l'article: Neu
• Dimensions: 252 L x 176 H x 14 P (en millimètres) 252 millimètres de largeur par 176 millimètres de hauteur par 14 millimètres de profondeur
• Poids: 474 grammes

A propos de ce titre

Synopsis

How the cerebral cortex operates near a critical phase transition point for optimum performance.

Individual neurons have limited computational powers, but when they work together, it is almost like magic. Firing synchronously and then breaking off to improvise by themselves, they can be paradoxically both independent and interdependent. This happens near the critical point: when neurons are poised between a phase where activity is damped and a phase where it is amplified, where information processing is optimized, and complex emergent activity patterns arise. The claim that neurons in the cortex work best when they operate near the critical point is known as the criticality hypothesis. In this book John Beggs—one of the pioneers of this hypothesis—offers an introduction to the critical point and its relevance to the brain.

Drawing on recent experimental evidence, Beggs first explains the main ideas underlying the criticality hypotheses and emergent phenomena. He then discusses the critical point and its two main consequences—first, scale-free properties that confer optimum information processing; and second, universality, or the idea that complex emergent phenomena, like that seen near the critical point, can be explained by relatively simple models that are applicable across species and scale. Finally, Beggs considers future directions for the field, including research on homeostatic regulation, quasicriticality, and the expansion of the cortex and intelligence. An appendix provides technical material; many chapters include exercises that use freely available code and data sets.

À propos de l?auteur

John M. Beggs is Professor of Physics at Indiana University.