{
  "id": 14284526,
  "title": "Arousal-informed neuronal avalanches operate near criticality",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/arousal-informed-neuronal-avalanches-operate-near-criticality",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-10-13T00:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "bioRxiv",
    "slug": "biorxiv",
    "url": "https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.12.757995v1?rss=1"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Cortical networks are believed to perform optimally when operating near a critical point, although testing this hypothesis at the single-cell level across extensive brain regions has proven challenging. Traditional methods using narrow fields of view often miss overlapping neural avalanches, leading to underestimations of subcritical conditions. To address this, researchers employed mesoscopic two-photon calcium imaging in the awake mouse visual cortex to record thousands of neurons. By applying convolutional non-negative matrix factorization, they decomposed population activity into distinct, overlapping spatiotemporal avalanches. Contrary to expectations of a single dynamical state, they discovered that the cortex comprises multiple overlapping subnetworks distributed across a phase diagram at varying distances from the critical point. Notably, arousal-linked avalanches propagate extensively and operate closest to the critical point, exhibiting an optimized dynamic range, minimized algorithmic complexity, and maximized temporal entropy. These findings reveal how the awake brain strategically orchestrates parallel near-critical subnetworks to facilitate efficient sensory computation.",
  "summary": "Cortical networks are thought to operate near a \"critical point\" that optimizes information processing, but this has been difficult to test at single-cell resolution across large brain areas, as narrow fields of view miss overlapping neural avalanches, causing subcritical estimates, Using mesoscopic two-photon calcium imaging in awake mouse visual cortex, we recorded thousands of neurons and…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}