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The brain's code and its canonical computational motifs. From sensory cortex to the default mode network: A multi-scale model of brain function in health and disease

Federico Turkheimer, Robert Leech, Paul Expert, Louis-David Lord, Anthony C. Vernon

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews May 5, 2015 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2015.04.014 (opens in new tab)

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AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Review Peer reviewed
Topics Default mode network
Keywords Sensory system Stimulus modality Computational model Cognition Artificial intelligence Electroencephalography
Citations 64
Key findings The brain's computational architecture relies on canonical computational motifs repeated across scales, which can unify explanations for schizophrenia and related disorders.

Abstract

A variety of anatomical and physiological evidence suggests that the brain performs computations using motifs that are repeated across species, brain areas, and modalities. The computational architecture of cortex, for example, is very similar from one area to another and the types, arrangements, and connections of cortical neurons are highly stereotyped. This supports the idea that each cortical area conducts calculations using similarly structured neuronal modules: what we term canonical computational motifs. In addition, the remarkable self-similarity of the brain observables at the micro-, meso- and macro-scale further suggests that these motifs are repeated at increasing spatial and temporal scales supporting brain activity from primary motor and sensory processing to higher-level behaviour and cognition. Here, we briefly review the biological bases of canonical brain circuits and the role of inhibitory interneurons in these computational elements. We then elucidate how canonical computational motifs can be repeated across spatial and temporal scales to build a multiplexing information system able to encode and transmit information of increasing complexity. We point to the similarities between the patterns of activation observed in primary sensory cortices by use of electrophysiology and those observed in large scale networks measured with fMRI. We then employ the canonical model of brain function to unify seemingly disparate evidence on the pathophysiology of schizophrenia in a single explanatory framework. We hypothesise that such a framework may also be extended to cover multiple brain disorders which are grounded in dysfunction of GABA interneurons and/or these computational motifs.

Comparable studies

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The Brain's Default Mode Network 2015 Review
Default Mode Network Activity and Connectivity in Psychopathology 2012 Review
20 years of the default mode network: A review and synthesis 2023 Review
On the relationship between the “default mode network” and the “social brain” 2012 Review
The default mode network and social understanding of others: what do brain connectivity studies tell us Healthy subjects, with some studies on patients with autism and psychopathy 2014 Review

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