University of Hong Kong Researchers Discover Rapid Brain Network Reconfiguration
A research team from the University of Hong Kong, led by Professor Ed X. Wu and Dr. Alex T. L. Leong, has made a significant breakthrough in understanding how the brain processes information through large-scale network changes. Their study, published in Nature Communications, reveals that the brain can reconfigure its networks in just seconds following a brief neural signal. This challenges the traditional belief that such changes are slow and gradual. The team employed an innovative optogenetic technique in a rat model to initiate neural activity from the thalamus, a key brain region for sensory information relay. They discovered that a single, 10-millisecond pulse could trigger a brain-wide resting-state fMRI network reconfiguration in as little as two seconds. 
