Cortical long-range dynamics track excitation-inhibition balance across cognitive states and organizational principles
- 1Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
Abstract
A fundamental question in systems neuroscience is how the brain's excitation-inhibition (E/I) balance shapes the temporal structure of neural activity and whether we can non-invasively recover this relationship from neural scaling properties. We show that MRS-derived E/I balance is expressed in long-range temporal dynamics and constrained by cytoarchitecture. The laminar organisation of inhibitory circuits, spanning agranular to granular cortex, determines how faithfully regional dynamics reflect E/I balance. This neurochemical signature is state-dependent: its relationship with cortical dynamics reverses during task engagement, consistent with traversal of dynamical regimes around a critical point. It extends beyond fMRI to arousal-linked dynamics, indexed by pupil diameter and microsaccades, indicating a global mode of cortical state rather than a regionally isolated property. The imprint of E/I balance on long-range dynamics follows the sensory-association axis at rest, and is reconfigured during task engagement. These findings establish E/I balance as a neurochemical quantity with structured, scalable signatures across the temporal and spatial organization of the human cortex.
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BibTeX
@misc{bisi2026cortical,
title = {{Cortical long-range dynamics track excitation-inhibition balance across cognitive states and organizational principles}},
author = {M. Bisi and A. Ferrari and J. K. Degutis and S. Tambalo and A. I. Renton and M. V. Lombardo and J. Jovicich and D. Van De Ville and F. Saviola},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.30.763069},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.30.763069v1},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Cortical long-range dynamics track excitation-inhibition balance across cognitive states and organizational principles
AU - M. Bisi
AU - A. Ferrari
AU - J. K. Degutis
AU - S. Tambalo
AU - A. I. Renton
AU - M. V. Lombardo
AU - J. Jovicich
AU - D. Van De Ville
AU - F. Saviola
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/30
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.30.763069
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.30.763069v1
AB - A fundamental question in systems neuroscience is how the brain's excitation-inhibition (E/I) balance shapes the temporal structure of neural activity and whether we can non-invasively recover this relationship from neural scaling properties. We show that MRS-derived E/I balance is expressed in long-range temporal dynamics and constrained by cytoarchitecture. The laminar organisation of inhibitory circuits, spanning agranular to granular cortex, determines how faithfully regional dynamics reflect E/I balance. This neurochemical signature is state-dependent: its relationship with cortical dynamics reverses during task engagement, consistent with traversal of dynamical regimes around a critical point. It extends beyond fMRI to arousal-linked dynamics, indexed by pupil diameter and microsaccades, indicating a global mode of cortical state rather than a regionally isolated property. The imprint of E/I balance on long-range dynamics follows the sensory-association axis at rest, and is reconfigured during task engagement. These findings establish E/I balance as a neurochemical quantity with structured, scalable signatures across the temporal and spatial organization of the human cortex.
ER -