The dynamical renaissance in neuroscience

Favela, Luis H.

doi:10.1007/s11229-020-02874-y

Cited by 28 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 94 publications

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“…This paradigm considers the brain as a dynamical system (as opposed to a modular, information processing computer). 1 This dynamical renaissance in understanding nervous systems has been compellingly described by Favela (2020). Although the methods are not particularly new -e.g., differential equationsunfolding developments make these approaches central to the defense of the "dynamical hypothesis" in neuroscience.…”

Section: Brains and Minds As Dynamical Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Importance of Being Flexible: Dynamic Brain Networks and Their Potential Functional Significances

Safron

Klimaj

Hipólito

2022

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

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In this theoretical review, we begin by discussing brains and minds from a dynamical systems perspective, and then go on to describe methods for characterizing the flexibility of dynamic networks. We discuss how varying degrees and kinds of flexibility may be adaptive (or maladaptive) in different contexts, specifically focusing on measures related to either more disjoint or cohesive dynamics. While disjointed flexibility may be useful for assessing neural entropy, cohesive flexibility may potentially serve as a proxy for self-organized criticality as a fundamental property enabling adaptive behavior in complex systems. Particular attention is given to recent studies in which flexibility methods have been used to investigate neurological and cognitive maturation, as well as the breakdown of conscious processing under varying levels of anesthesia. We further discuss how these findings and methods might be contextualized within the Free Energy Principle with respect to the fundamentals of brain organization and biological functioning more generally, and describe potential methodological advances from this paradigm. Finally, with relevance to computational psychiatry, we propose a research program for obtaining a better understanding of ways that dynamic networks may relate to different forms of psychological flexibility, which may be the single most important factor for ensuring human flourishing.

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Section: Brains and Minds As Dynamical Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Importance of Being Flexible: Dynamic Brain Networks and Their Potential Functional Significances

Safron

Klimaj

Hipólito

2022

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

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show abstract

“…This paradigm considers the brain as a dynamical system (as opposed to a modular, information processing computer). This dynamical renaissance in understanding nervous systems has been compellingly described by Favela (2020). Although the methods are not particularly new -e.g.…”

Section: Brains and Minds As Dynamical Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the importance of being flexible: dynamic brain networks and their potential functional significances

Safron¹,

Klimaj²,

Hipólito³

2021

Preprint

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In this theoretical review, we begin by discussing brains and minds from a dynamical systems perspective, and then go on to describe methods for characterizing the flexibility of dynamic networks. We discuss how varying degrees and kinds of flexibility may be adaptive (or maladaptive) in different contexts, specifically focusing on measures related to either more disjoint or cohesive dynamics. While disjointed flexibility may be useful for assessing neural entropy, cohesive flexibility may potentially serve as a proxy for self-organized criticality as a fundamental property enabling adaptive behavior in complex systems. Particular attention is given to recent studies in which flexibility methods have been used to investigate neurological and cognitive maturation, as well as the breakdown of conscious processing under varying levels of anesthesia. We further discuss how these findings and methods might be contextualized within the Free Energy Principle as a fundamental principle of brain organization, and describe potential methodological advances from this paradigm. Finally, with relevance to computational psychiatry, we propose a research program for obtaining a better understanding of ways that dynamic networks may relate to different forms of psychological flexibility, which may be the single most important factor for ensuring human flourishing.

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“…However, as Hodgkin and Huxley (1952) explicitly pointed out, their equations lacked a physical basis. There is some disagreement among philosophers about how we should interpret the explanatory merits of the model ( Levy, 2014 ; Craver and Kaplan, 2020 ; Favela, 2020a ), but what is clear is that the Hodgkin and Huxley model is a major achievement that is not a mechanistic explanation of the action potential. We return to issues such as these below.…”

Section: Philosophical Theories Of Understanding Integrate Scientific...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Philosophy of Understanding With the Cognitive Sciences

Khalifa

Islam²,

Gamboa

et al. 2022

Front. Syst. Neurosci.

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We provide two programmatic frameworks for integrating philosophical research on understanding with complementary work in computer science, psychology, and neuroscience. First, philosophical theories of understanding have consequences about how agents should reason if they are to understand that can then be evaluated empirically by their concordance with findings in scientific studies of reasoning. Second, these studies use a multitude of explanations, and a philosophical theory of understanding is well suited to integrating these explanations in illuminating ways.

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The dynamical renaissance in neuroscience

Cited by 28 publications

References 94 publications

On the Importance of Being Flexible: Dynamic Brain Networks and Their Potential Functional Significances

On the Importance of Being Flexible: Dynamic Brain Networks and Their Potential Functional Significances

On the importance of being flexible: dynamic brain networks and their potential functional significances

Integrating Philosophy of Understanding With the Cognitive Sciences

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