Unlike what we usually think, the brain remains active even when it is apparently resting. The activity of the brain organ at rest , that is, without the presence of any stimulus or task, is structured and responds to certain patterns or spatiotemporal networks: the so-called resting-state networks (RSN). Neuroscientists from Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) have just deciphered the keys to its operation.
As reported in the journal Trends in Neurosciences , and based on large-scale computer models of the brain, they have found that when networks in a state of rest are in a situation described by experts as 'the limit of instability', their Efficiency increases, while increasing your speed to mobilize either for sensory perception or for brain action. In other words, when the brain is at the critical point of 'instability' in a resting situation, it can display its full response potential to a specific stimulus or task.
Thus, according to Gustavo Deco, co-author of the work, one of the main conclusions of the study is the discovery that the brain works during rest at a critical point of "instability". This critical point can and will be affected in different individuals, for different reasons, such as learning, experience, aging or even different neuropsychiatric syndromes.
