Neuronal Avalanches to Study the Coordination of Large-Scale Brain Activity: Application to Rett Syndrome

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Rosaria Rucco¹  Giuseppe Sorrentino¹  Pierpaolo Sorrentino²  Pia Bernardo⁶  Anna Lardone¹  Fabio Baselice⁴  Matteo Pesoli¹  Arianna Polverino³  Carmela Bravaccio⁶  Carmine Granata²  Laura Mandolesi⁸ 

[1] Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples “Parthenope;Institute of Applied Sciences and Intelligent Systems, National Research Council (CNR);Hermitage Capodimonte Hospital;Department of Engineering, University of Naples “Parthenope;Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Aix-Marseille Université;Department of Medical and Translational Science, Child Neuropsychiatry Unit, University of Naples “Federico II;Department of Neuroscience, Santobono-Pausilipon Children’s Hospital;Department of Humanistic Studies, University of Naples “Federico II

关键词: self-organized criticality;    critical state;    neuronal avalanches;    branching process;    magnetoencephalography;    Rett syndrome;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2020.550749

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Many complex systems, such as the brain, display large-scale coordinated interactions that create ordered patterns. Classically, such patterns have been studied using the framework of criticality, i.e., at a transition point between two qualitatively distinct patterns. This kind of system is generally characterized by a scale-invariant organization, in space and time, optimally described by a power-law distribution whose slope is quantified by an exponent α. The dynamics of these systems is characterized by alternating periods of activations, called avalanches, with quiescent periods. To maximize its efficiency, the system must find a trade-off between its stability and ease of propagation of activation, which is achieved by a branching process. It is quantified by a branching parameter σ defined as the average ratio between the number of activations in consecutive time bins. The brain is itself a complex system and its activity can be described as a series of neuronal avalanches. It is known that critical aspects of brain dynamics are modeled with a branching parameter σ = , and the neuronal avalanches distribution fits well with a power law distribution exponent α = -3/2. The aim of our work was to study a self-organized criticality system in which there was a change in neuronal circuits due to genetic causes. To this end, we have compared the characteristics of neuronal avalanches in a group of 10 patients affected by Rett syndrome, during an open-eye resting-state condition estimated using magnetoencephalography, with respect to 10 healthy subjects. The analysis was performed both in broadband and in the five canonical frequency bands. We found, for both groups, a branching parameter close to 1. In this critical condition, Rett patients show a lower distribution parameter α in the delta and broadband. These results suggest that the large-scale coordination of activity occurs to a lesser extent in RTT patients.

【 授权许可】

CC BY