Neural Information Systems Theory: First-Order Thalamic Downsampling Instability and Second-Order Default Mode Network Integration Cascading Failure Hypothesis
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) July 12, 2026 Yue Lu
The brain is modeled as a multi-tier cybernetic defense system that manages sensory data. The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) acts as a hardware filter to reduce sensory noise, while the default mode network's posterior cingulate and precuneus serve as a higher-order software compressor driven by memory. The paper hypothesizes that early Alzheimer's disease involves TRN inhibitory interneuron loss, causing signal aliasing that overloads the cortex. Analyzing EEG data from the OpenNeuro dataset under 5Hz photic stimulation, a non-linear upward mutation in instantaneous entropy was observed at the 4th second in the Alzheimer's group, indicating a cascading failure from clock skew and phase mismatch.