The Brain: What is Critical About It?

@article{Chialvo2008TheBW,
  title={The Brain: What is Critical About It?},
  author={Dante R. Chialvo and Pablo Balenzuela and Daniel Fraiman},
  journal={arXiv: Disordered Systems and Neural Networks},
  year={2008},
  volume={1028},
  pages={28-45}
}
We review the recent proposal that the most fascinating brain properties are related to the fact that it always stays close to a second order phase transition. In such conditions, the collective of neuronal groups can reliably generate robust and flexible behavior, because it is known that at the critical point there is the largest abundance of metastable states to choose from. Here we review the motivation, arguments and recent results, as well as further implications of this view of the… 
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