| A simple electronic model of avalanche generation consists of a two-dimensional array of neon lamps, each one connected to a resistor towards a global DC control voltage and capacitively coupled to its von Neumann neighbors. Neon lamps possess rich dynamical properties: as the applied voltage changes, the transition between the "on" and "off" phases is at the same time significantly hysteretic and stochastic (Dance, 1968). The system displays two phases, <math>I</math> and <math>II</math>, respectively characterized by low and high event rate and spatiotemporal order: the transition between them is strongly hysteretic, hence unequivocally first-order. Nevertheless, close to the spinal point of the <math>I\rightarrow II</math> transition, critical precursors emerge in the form of avalanches (Fig. 8) having the same scaling exponents characterizing neural activity, namely <math>\alpha\approx3/2</math> for size and <math>\alpha\approx2</math> for duration (Minati et al., 2016). | | A simple electronic model of avalanche generation consists of a two-dimensional array of neon lamps, each one connected to a resistor towards a global DC control voltage and capacitively coupled to its von Neumann neighbors. Neon lamps possess rich dynamical properties: as the applied voltage changes, the transition between the "on" and "off" phases is at the same time significantly hysteretic and stochastic (Dance, 1968). The system displays two phases, <math>I</math> and <math>II</math>, respectively characterized by low and high event rate and spatiotemporal order: the transition between them is strongly hysteretic, hence unequivocally first-order. Nevertheless, close to the spinal point of the <math>I\rightarrow II</math> transition, critical precursors emerge in the form of avalanches (Fig. 8) having the same scaling exponents characterizing neural activity, namely <math>\alpha\approx3/2</math> for size and <math>\alpha\approx2</math> for duration (Minati et al., 2016). |
− | The writing of this work and the experiments presented in the figures were funded by the National Science Foundation, grant number 0343636 to John Beggs, and by Indiana University. The initial work on neuronal avalanches was done in the laboratory of Dietmar Plenz, and was funded by the intramural research program of the National Institutes of Health. | + | The writing of this work and the experiments presented in the figures were funded by the National Science Foundation, grant number 0343636 to John Beggs, and by Indiana University. The initial work on neuronal avalanches was done in the laboratory of Dietmar Plenz, and was funded by the intramural research program of the National Institutes of Health. |