Mammalian brains function through a constant balance of cooperation and competition between specialized circuits. While internal circuits cooperate, long-range competitive interactions manage limited resources and prevent excessive synchronization. This mechanism allows different brain systems to take turns shaping overall dynamics, facilitating complex cognitive processes like decision-making, attention, and memory.
New experiments reveal how astrocytes tune neuronal activity to modulate our mental and emotional states, suggesting that neuron-only brain models are insufficient for understanding brain function.
