Low-dimensional Criticality Embedded in High-dimensional Awake Brain Dynamics

Authors

Antonio J. Fontenele, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
J. Samuel Sooter, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
V. Kindler Norman, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Shree Hari Gautam, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
Woodrow L. Shew, University of Arkansas, FayettevilleFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2024

Keywords

Cortical neurons; dynamical regimes; criticality; multi-scale information; input discrimination; multiplexing

Abstract

Whether cortical neurons operate in a strongly or weakly correlated dynamical regime determines fundamental information processing capabilities and has fueled decades of debate. We offer a resolution of this debate; we show that two important dynamical regimes, typically considered incompatible, can coexist in the same local cortical circuit by separating them into two different subspaces. In awake mouse motor cortex, we find a low-dimensional subspace with large fluctuations consistent with criticality—a dynamical regime with moderate correlations and multi-scale information capacity and transmission. Orthogonal to this critical subspace, we find a high-dimensional subspace containing a desynchronized dynamical regime, which may optimize input discrimination. The critical subspace is apparent only at long timescales, which explains discrepancies among some previous studies. Using a computational model, we show that the emergence of a low-dimensional critical subspace at large timescales agrees with established theory of critical dynamics. Our results suggest that the cortex leverages its high dimensionality to multiplex dynamical regimes across different subspaces.

Citation

Fontenele, A. J., Sooter, J. S., Norman, V. K., Gautam, S. H., & Shew, W. L. (2024). Low-dimensional Criticality Embedded in High-dimensional Awake Brain Dynamics. Science Advances, 10 (17), eadj9303. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adj9303

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