Periodic orbits: a new language for neuronal dynamics
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Updated: Oct 29, 2026

Real-time Electrophysiology: Using Closed-loop Protocols to Probe Neuronal Dynamics and Beyond
Published on: June 24, 2015
P So1, J T Francis, T I Netoff
1Center for Neuroscience, Children's National Medical Center, and the George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC 20010, USA. paso@cnmc.org
Abstract:
A new nonlinear dynamical analysis is applied to complex behavior from neuronal systems. The conceptual foundation of this analysis is the abstraction of observed neuronal activities into a dynamical landscape characterized by a hierarchy of "unstable periodic orbits" (UPOs). UPOs are rigorously identified in data sets representative of three different levels of organization in mammalian brain. An analysis based on UPOs affords a novel alternative method of decoding, predicting, and controlling these neuronal systems.
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