Introducing the brain: it's fractal organization (Introduction)

by David Turell , Sunday, November 10, 2024, 17:41 (11 days ago) @ David Turell

Across evolution:

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-mystery-of-how-neurons-control-the-brain-has-finally-b...

"As it turns out, the brain's secret is surprisingly simple: devote no more than half (and no less than 40 percent) of each cell's effort to individual tasks.

"Where does the rest of the effort go? Towards scalable teamwork.

"And here's the kicker: we found the exact same organizational structure across the brains of five species – from fruit flies and nematodes to zebrafish, mice and monkeys.

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"However, with advances in calcium imaging, we can now record signals from tens of thousands of cells simultaneously. Calcium imaging is a method that lets us watch neural activity in real time by using fluorescent sensors that light up according to calcium levels in the cell.

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"Applying insights from my physics training to analyze large-scale datasets, we found that brain activity unfolds according to a fractal hierarchy.

"Cells work together to build larger, coordinated networks, creating an organization with each scale mirroring those above and below.

"This structure answered the debate: the brain actually does both.

"It balances individuality and teamwork, and does so in a clever way. Roughly half of the effort goes to "personal" performance as neurons collaborate within increasingly larger networks.

"To test whether the brain's structure had unique advantages, we ran computational simulations, revealing that this fractal hierarchy optimizes information flow across the brain.

"It allows the brain to do something crucial: adapt to change. It ensures the brain operates efficiently, accomplishing tasks with minimal resources while staying resilient by maintaining function even when neurons misfire.

"Whether you are navigating unfamiliar terrain or reacting to a sudden threat, your brain processes and acts on new information rapidly. Neurons continuously adjust their coordination, keeping the brain stable enough for deep thought, yet agile enough to respond to new challenges.

"The multiscale organization we found allows different strategies – or "neural codes" – to function at different scales.

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"Our findings reveal that this fractal coordination of neuron activity occurs across a vast evolutionary span: from vertebrates, whose last common ancestor lived 450 million years ago, to invertebrates, dating back a billion years.

"This suggests brains have evolved to balance efficiency with resilience, allowing for optimized information processing and adaptability to new behavioral demands. The evolutionary persistence hints that we've uncovered a fundamental design principle.

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"Our findings also hint at something bigger: this simple rule of individual focus and scalable teamwork might not just be a solution for the brain.

"When elements are organized into tiered networks, resources can be shared efficiently, and the system becomes robust against disruptions.

"The best businesses operate in the same way — when a new challenge arises, individuals can react without waiting for instructions from their manager, allowing them to solve the problem while remaining supported by the organization rapidly.

"It may be a universal principle to achieve resilience and efficiency in complex systems."

Comment: when brains first appeared in the Cambrian explosion were they this organized or did the fractal pattern develop by evolution? My guess is since there are no precursors, the brains came fully prepared, that is designed for action.