Complex intermittency blurred by noise: theory and application to neural dynamics

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2010 Jul;82(1 Pt 2):015103. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.82.015103. Epub 2010 Jul 28.

Abstract

We propose a model for the passage between metastable states of mind dynamics. As changing points we use the rapid transition processes simultaneously detectable in EEG signals related to different cortical areas. Our model consists of a non-Poissonian intermittent process, which signals that the brain is in a condition of complexity, upon which a Poisson process is superimposed. We provide an analytical solution for the waiting-time distribution for the model, which is well obeyed by physiological data. Although the role of the Poisson process remains unexplained, the model is able to reproduce many behaviors reported in literature, although they seem contradictory.

MeSH terms

  • Brain / physiology*
  • Electroencephalography
  • Humans
  • Models, Neurological*
  • Time Factors