Broken detailed balance and entropy production in the human brain.

ABSTRACT: Living systems break detailed balance at small scales, consuming energy and producing entropy in the environment to perform molecular and cellular functions. However, it remains unclear how broken detailed balance manifests at macroscopic scales and how such dynamics support higher-order biological functions. Here we present a framework to quantify broken detailed balance by measuring entropy production in macroscopic systems. We apply our method to the human brain, an organ whose immense metabolic consumption drives a diverse range of cognitive functions. Using whole-brain imaging data, we demonstrate that the brain nearly obeys detailed balance when at rest, but strongly breaks detailed balance when performing physically and cognitively demanding tasks. Using a dynamic Ising model, we sh

SUBMITTER: Lynn CW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8617485 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature