Evaluation of the neuronal network dynamics in anterior cingulate cortex using neuronal avalanche model

Cortical neurons display unique spatiotemporal patterns in signals processing to perform functions. Recent studies focus on the characteristics of the sufficient conditions in neuronal networks. The nLFPs exhibit a scale-free event size distribution, the neuronal avalanche, which has been proven in the cortex across species, including mice, rats, and humans, and may be used as an index of cortical excitability. However, it needs more investigation on the correlation between the neuronal avalanche and the cortical excitabilities. In this study, we hypothesize the neuronal avalanche could be taken as the index of the neuronal network excitability. The first aim of this study is to set up the analysis method of in vitro and in vivo recording. We measured nLFPs from multi-electrode recordings and approved the nLFPs in ACC and the S1 exhibit the distribution of the neuronal avalanche. The second aim of this study is focus on the nociceptive response in different level of the anesthesia, and we found in light anesthesia, the slope of the avalanche, α value, in ACC would be modulated by peripheral nociception. In the third part of this study, we try to evaluate the impact of the network excitability by the medial thalamic manipulation on ACC by traditional EEG analysis and the slope of the neuronal avalanche. We found that the α value could reflect network excitability and the thalamic manipulation. Final we conclude that the neuronal avalanche could be a tool for analyzing cortical network activity in physiological and pathological conditions through nLFPs to determine alterations in network dynamics.