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Updated: Nov 27, 2025

Real-time Electrophysiology: Using Closed-loop Protocols to Probe Neuronal Dynamics and Beyond
Published on: June 24, 2015
Thermodynamic Formalism in Neuronal Dynamics and Spike Train Statistics
Rodrigo Cofré1, Cesar Maldonado2, Bruno Cessac3
1CIMFAV-Ingemat, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso 2340000, Chile.
Abstract:
The Thermodynamic Formalism provides a rigorous mathematical framework for studying quantitative and qualitative aspects of dynamical systems. At its core, there is a variational principle that corresponds, in its simplest form, to the Maximum Entropy principle. It is used as a statistical inference procedure to represent, by specific probability measures (Gibbs measures), the collective behaviour of complex systems. This framework has found applications in different domains of science. In particular, it has been fruitful and influential in neurosciences. In this article, we review how the Thermodynamic Formalism can be exploited in the field of theoretical neuroscience, as a conceptual and operational tool, in order to link the dynamics of interacting neurons and the statistics of action potentials from either experimental data or mathematical models. We comment on perspectives and open problems in theoretical neuroscience that could be addressed within this formalism.
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