A Physical Theory For When the Brain Performs Best - Quanta Magazine

The hypothesis predicts that between these phases, at a sweet spot known as the critical point, the brain has a perfect balance of variety and structure and can produce the most complex and information-rich activity patterns.

In a critical network, the connections are strong enough for many moderately sized groups of neurons to couple, yet weak enough to prevent them from all coalescing into one giant assembly.

For example, when one eye of a rat is covered, its visual cortex is pushed away from the critical point and transmits information more erratically.

It thus appears that brains naturally incline themselves to operate near the critical point, perhaps just as the body keeps blood pressure, temperature and heart rate in a healthy range despite changes to the environment.

This insight is important for understanding neurological health: New research has suggested that brain diseases like epilepsy are associated with failure to operate near the critical point or to return to it once pushed away.

The claim that the cortex operates near the critical point is a sweeping one, encompassing optimal information processing, neurological health and a nearly universal application across species.