Unveiling the Secrets of Neuronal Information Processing in the Brain

Researchers have provided strong evidence supporting the "critical brain hypothesis" through an experiment called DishBrain, which involved 800,000 human neural cells playing Pong. The study reveals that neurons shift into a "neural critical" state when informed about the surrounding environment, enabling cascades of brain activity. This state lies between epileptic excitation and a comatose stall. The findings offer insights into brain function and potential treatments for neurological disorders. However, the study also highlights that criticality alone is insufficient for learning; a feedback loop with additional action consequence information is necessary.