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Generalized CNS arousal: An elementary force within the vertebrate nervous system
D P Calderon1, M Kilinc2, A Maritan3
1Laboratory for Neurobiology and Behavior, the Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, United States; Department of Anaesthesiology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10021, United States.
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
|May 25, 2016
Summary
Brain arousal systems operate best at "criticality," a state near a phase transition. This neurobiological principle enhances responsiveness and facilitates shifts between brain states, offering new insights into CNS arousal.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Computational Neuroscience
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Arousal is a fundamental brain function enabling responses to environmental stimuli.
- Understanding the neurobiology of generalized central nervous system (CNS) arousal has been a long-standing challenge.
- Previous research involved psychological, neurophysiological, and molecular investigations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze generalized CNS arousal using approaches from physical systems.
- To explore the concept of criticality in the context of brain arousal.
- To bridge the gap between physical systems analysis and the neurobiology of arousal.
Main Methods:
- Application of concepts from the mathematics of physical systems.
- Analysis of arousal systems poised near a phase transition.
- Investigating the state of criticality in neural systems.
Main Results:
- The brain's arousal system benefits from operating near a phase transition, a state termed criticality.
- Criticality enhances the speed and sensitivity of arousal systems.
- This state facilitates transitions between different brain states, particularly from less to more aroused states.
Conclusions:
- Concepts from applied mathematics of physical systems are applicable to understanding CNS arousal.
- Criticality offers a novel framework for analyzing the neurobiology of arousal.
- This approach provides new insights into how the brain manages arousal and state transitions.
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