Does the human brain look like the Universe?

An astrophysicist from the University of Bologna and a neurosurgeon from the University of Verona compared the network of neuronal cells in the human brain to the cosmic network of galaxies … and surprising similarities emerged

In their article published in Frontiers of physics, Franco Vazza (astrophysicist at the University of Bologna) and Alberto Feletti (neurosurgeon at the University of Verona) studied the similarities between two of nature’s most difficult and complex systems: the cosmic network of galaxies and the network of neuronal cells in the human brain.

Despite the substantial difference in scale between the two networks (over 27 orders of magnitude), their quantitative analysis, which sits at the crossroads of cosmology and neurosurgery, suggests that various physical processes can build structures characterized by levels. similar in complexity and self-surgery. organization.

The human brain works thanks to its vast neural network believed to contain around 69 billion neurons. On the other hand, the observable universe is composed of a cosmic network of at least 100 billion galaxies. In both systems, only 30% of their masses are made up of galaxies and neurons. In both systems, galaxies and neurons organize themselves into long filaments or nodes between the filaments. Finally, in both systems, 70% of the mass or energy distribution is made up of components playing a seemingly passive role: water in the brain and dark energy in the observable Universe.

Starting from the common characteristics of the two systems, the researchers compared a simulation of the network of galaxies to sections of the cerebral cortex and the cerebellum. The objective was to observe how the fluctuations of matter disperse on such diverse scales.

“We calculated the spectral density of the two systems. It is a technique often used in cosmology to study the spatial distribution of galaxies, ”explains Franco Vazza. “Our analysis showed that the distribution of fluctuation within the neural network of the cerebellum on a scale of 1 micrometer to 0.1 millimeter follows the same progression of the distribution of matter in the cosmic network but, of course, at a larger scale ranging from 5 million to 500 million light years. “

The two researchers also calculated certain parameters characterizing both the neural network and the cosmic network: the average number of connections in each node and the tendency to group several connections in the relevant central nodes of the network.

“Once again, structural parameters identified unexpected levels of agreement. Likely, the connectivity within the two networks evolves on similar physical principles, despite the striking and obvious difference between the physical powers regulating galaxies and neurons. “, adds Alberto Feletti. “These two complex networks have more similarities than those shared between the cosmic network and a galaxy or a neural network and the interior of a neural body.”

The encouraging results of this pilot study lead researchers to believe that new efficient analysis techniques in the two fields, cosmology and neurosurgery, will allow a better understanding of the routed dynamics underlying the temporal evolution of these two systems.

Provided by the University of Bologna