Role of criticality in the structure-function relationship in the human brain
A healthy brain exhibits a rich dynamical repertoire, with flexible spatiotemporal patterns replaying on both microscopic and macroscopic scales. We hypothesize that the observed relationship between empirical structure and functional patterns is best explained when the microscopic neuronal dynamics is close to a critical regime. Using a modular spiking neuronal network model based on empirical connectomes, we posit that multiple stored functional patterns can transiently reoccur when the system operates near a critical regime, generating realistic brain dynamics and structural-functional relationships. The connections in the model are chosen so as to force the network to learn and propagate suited modular spatiotemporal patterns. To test our hypothesis, we employ magnetoencephalography and tractography data from five healthy individuals. We show that the extended critical region of the model maximizes the structure-function correlation and generates realistic features, demonstrating the relevance of near-critical regimes for physiological brain activity.
Authors
- C. Granata (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5724-0994)
- Pierpaolo Sorrentino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9556-9800)
- Emahnuel Troisi Lopez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0220-2672)
- Marianna Angiolelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9717-0572)
- Alessandro Loppini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8986-2365)
- Mario Quarantelli (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7836-454X)
- Christian Cherubini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0542-5601)
- Silvia Scarpetta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4189-0065)
- Letizia Chiodo
- Mattia Stefano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9109-2657)
- Giuseppe Sorrentino (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0800-2433)
- Vincenzo Palmieri (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4478-4033)
- Giovanni Messuti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-0480-8124)
- Simonetta Filippi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1952-0834)
Institutions
- University of Salerno (IT)
- Università Campus Bio-Medico (IT)
- University of Sassari (IT)
- Parthenope University of Naples (IT)
- Aix-Marseille Université (FR)
- Instituto de Óptica "Daza de Valdés" (ES)
- Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri (IT)
- Institute of Applied Science and Intelligent Systems (IT)
- Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Napoli (IT)
- Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes (FR)
- International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics (IT)
- National Research Council (RO)
- National Research Council (IT)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Research
- Published
- 2025-11-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevresearch.7.043153
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.86
Funders
- Istituto Nazionale di Alta Matematica "Francesco Severi"
- European Commission
- Gruppo Nazionale per la Fisica Matematica