Synchronization is a ubiquitous phenomenon in the natural world. We can observe it in physical systems like metronomes but also in many biological systems, including the networks of cells that make you- you! In recent decades, the boundary between physics and neuroscience has eroded as the math of physics, developed for things like those metronomes, is applied to neural networks.

an artist's representation of a neural network

Image credit: Jon Heras via science-art.com

A new study in Physical Review Letters [PRL 110, 174102 (2013)] indicates that symmetry in the brain's connections could tell us a lot about how we work. The study was conducted by a diverse group of European scientists across both national and disciplinary borders.

First, the scientists used their model to learn about semi-random networks by using computer simulations and mathematics. Then, in the exciting next step, they were able to use MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) data to apply their work to an actual neural network. The simulations run using this network allowed them to show that the synchronization, and therefore the function, of different brain areas could have more to do with their symmetry across the brain than their location.

This work is another small step towards developing a theory of how that the brain (and other complex networks) actually work. Of course, there is still an incredible amount of work to be done and it will likely take many more physicists, mathematicians and neuroscientists to get us there.