Influence of Criticality on 1/fα Spectral Characteristics of Cortical Neuron Populations

Critical properties of dynamical models of neural populations are studied. Synchronization of the firing of widely dispersed neurons enables the emergence of spatial patterns of cortical activity. Using neuropercolation model introduced in the literature in the past few years, the dynamics of neural populations is studied near critical regimes. Behavior is evaluated with respect to long-range axonal density and sparseness of feedback between excitatory and inhibitory populations. The results show that 1/f^alpha spectral behavior emerges near criticality, where exponent alpha is function of the critical state of the system.