Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 9, 2025
11:57
Methods to Study Changes in Inherent Protein Aggregation with Age in Caenorhabditis elegans
Published on: November 26, 2017
8.9K
Brain Entropy During Aging Through a Free Energy Principle Approach
Filippo Cieri1, Xiaowei Zhuang1, Jessica Z K Caldwell1
1Department of Neurology, Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, NV, United States.
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
|April 8, 2021
Summary
Neural complexity, measured as brain entropy (BEN), decreases in altered consciousness and aging. This study extends the entropic brain hypothesis to neuroaging, revealing reduced BEN in aging states.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Complexity Science
- Cognitive Science
Background:
- Neural complexity and brain entropy (BEN) are increasingly studied for insights into information processing.
- The entropic brain hypothesis posits that BEN decreases in states of reduced consciousness, like psychedelic experiences.
- Understanding brain entropy dynamics is crucial for exploring consciousness and cognitive function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To extend the entropic brain hypothesis to physiological and pathological aging.
- To review studies on BEN in consciousness states and neuroaging, particularly using resting-state fMRI.
- To analyze the brain's dynamic balance between order and chaos in neural signals and functional connectivity.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual review of entropy and neural complexity, framed by the free energy principle.
- Analysis of existing studies on BEN in psychedelic states, psychotic disorders, and aging.
- Focus on resting-state functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) data for neuroaging research.
Main Results:
- BEN decreases in states of reduced consciousness and in both physiological and pathological aging.
- Studies show increased entropy in acute psychedelic and chronic psychotic states (e.g., schizophrenia).
- A general trend of reduced BEN is observed in cognitive aging.
Conclusions:
- The entropic brain hypothesis can be extended to explain changes in brain entropy during aging.
- Brain entropy dynamics reflect a balance between order and chaos, crucial for cognitive function.
- Reduced BEN is a potential biomarker for cognitive aging and altered states of consciousness.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:26Aging
401
Aging is a complex biological phenomenon influenced by various processes that affect cellular and systemic functions. Several prominent theories attempt to explain its mechanisms, highlighting cellular limitations, oxidative damage, and hormonal changes as central factors in aging.
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
Cellular Clock Theory
The cellular clock theory posits that the human lifespan is closely tied to the finite capacity of cells to divide, a phenomenon governed by telomeres, which are protective caps at the ends of...
401
01:22Entropy within the Cell
12.2K
A living cell's primary tasks of obtaining, transforming, and using energy to do work may seem simple. However, the second law of thermodynamics explains why these tasks are harder than they appear. None of the energy transfers in the universe are completely efficient. In every energy transfer, some amount of energy is lost in a form that is unusable. In most cases, this form is heat energy. Thermodynamically, heat energy is defined as the energy transferred from one system to another that...
12.2K
02:39Entropy
32.8K
Salt particles that have dissolved in water never spontaneously come back together in solution to reform solid particles. Moreover, a gas that has expanded in a vacuum remains dispersed and never spontaneously reassembles. The unidirectional nature of these phenomena is the result of a thermodynamic state function called entropy (S). Entropy is the measure of the extent to which the energy is dispersed throughout a system, or in other words, it is proportional to the degree of disorder of a...
32.8K
01:18Entropy
3.1K
The first law of thermodynamics is quantitatively formulated via an equation relating the internal energy of a system, the heat exchanged by it, and the work done on it. A quantitative formulation of the second law of thermodynamics leads to defining a state function, the entropy.
When an ideal gas expands isothermally, the disorder in the gas increases. From the molecular perspective, the gas molecules have more volume to move around in.
Consider an infinitesimal step in the expansion, which...
When an ideal gas expands isothermally, the disorder in the gas increases. From the molecular perspective, the gas molecules have more volume to move around in.
Consider an infinitesimal step in the expansion, which...
3.1K
01:20Entropy and the Second Law of Thermodynamics
3.6K
The second law of thermodynamics can be stated quantitatively using the concept of entropy. Entropy is the measure of disorder of the system.
The relation between entropy and disorder can be illustrated with the example of the phase change of ice to water. In ice, the molecules are located at specific sites giving a solid state, whereas, in a liquid form, these molecules are much freer to move. The molecular arrangement has therefore become more randomized. Although the change in average...
The relation between entropy and disorder can be illustrated with the example of the phase change of ice to water. In ice, the molecules are located at specific sites giving a solid state, whereas, in a liquid form, these molecules are much freer to move. The molecular arrangement has therefore become more randomized. Although the change in average...
3.6K
02:39Gibbs Free Energy
36.1K
One of the challenges of using the second law of thermodynamics to determine if a process is spontaneous is that it requires measurements of the entropy change for the system and the entropy change for the surroundings. An alternative approach involving a new thermodynamic property defined in terms of system properties only was introduced in the late nineteenth century by American mathematician Josiah Willard Gibbs. This new property is called the Gibbs free energy (G) (or simply the free...
36.1K