title: Brain Performance versus Phase Transitions.
abstract: We here illustrate how a well-founded study of the brain may originate in assuming analogies with phase-transition phenomena. Analyzing to what extent a weak signal endures in noisy environments, we identify the underlying mechanisms, and it results a description of how the excitability associated to (non-equilibrium) phase changes and criticality optimizes the processing of the signal. Our setting is a network of integrate-and-fire nodes in which connections are heterogeneous with rapid time-varying intensities mimicking fatigue and potentiation. Emergence then becomes quite robust against wiring topology modification--in fact, we considered from a fully connected network to the Homo sapiens connectome--showing the essential role of synaptic flickering on computations. We also suggest how to experimentally disclose significant changes during actual brain operation.
authors.affiliation: Institute Carlos I for Theoretical and Computational Physics, Granada, E-18071, Spain.
authors.forename: Joaquín J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: Institute Carlos I for Theoretical and Computational Physics, Granada, E-18071, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marro
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009424:Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; D013997:Time Factors