[Eeglablist] Invitation to collaborate on an open paper about EEG’s 1/f power distribution

Mon Nov 10 15:46:59 PST 2025

Hi Marjan,

Thank you for your detailed comment and input, some of which I have not
even heard of.
I hope you join the cable theory team!

A word of caution: at this point, we are not sure if ICA is a harmless
preprocessing method for studying 1/f power distribution, since there is a
known issue of frequency dependency. When you perform component rejection
(which applies to ANY linear spatial filter, not limited to ICA), it
typically INCREASES the gamma-band power in the reconstructed sensor data
(Miyakoshi et al., 2021 Epilepsia). So, whether we want to use ICA or not
is itself a target of our discussion. Looking forward to discussing with
you more on GitHub--I will announce it shortly.

Makoto

On Mon, Nov 10, 2025 at 6:33 AM m za <ma.zamani.20 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Dear Dr. Makoto  and colleagues,
>
> After reading the paper *“Power Laws from Linear Neuronal Cable Theory”*
> by Pettersen et al. (2014), I realized that I should slightly refine my
> previous view.
>
> This study clearly shows that, at the level of a single neuron, the
> 1/f-like behavior can emerge purely from *dendritic filtering* — even
> without invoking critical dynamics or complex network interactions. The
> cable model alone can reproduce this pattern.
>
> However, as discussed by *Gao et al. (2017, NeuroImage)*, the *excitation/inhibition
> balance (E/I balance)* and *network-level dynamics* play a key role in
> shaping the slope of the 1/f component. In addition, studies on the *Griffiths
> phase* (e.g., *Moretti & Muñoz, 2013; Ponce-Alvarez et al., 2018*)
> suggest that *hierarchical and modular network structures* can generate *rare
> regions* that sustain long-lasting, self-controlled activity.
>
> Therefore, at the neuronal level, *dendritic filtering* based on the
> cable theory may serve as the physical origin of the 1/f behavior, while at
> the network level, *Griffiths-like dynamics* might help stabilize and
> organize this pattern across larger scales. In other words, these network
> dynamics could *amplify the heterogeneity* arising from differences in
> dendritic filtering among neurons, leading to a broader *power–frequency
> spectrum in EEG*.
>
> From an analytical perspective, one could empirically test this hypothesis
> by first applying *ICA* to extract independent EEG sources (instead of
> using mixed electrode signals), then analyzing *power–frequency
> variations* with *wavelet transforms*, and finally investigating *functional
> connectivity* among these components across time–frequency scales.
>
> In summary, combining the *physiological* (cable theory; Pettersen et
> al., 2014), *network* (Griffiths phase; Moretti & Muñoz, 2013;
> Ponce-Alvarez et al., 2018), and *functional* (E/I balance; Gao et al.,
> 2017) perspectives may provide a multi-scale framework for understanding
> the 1/f dynamics observed in EEG.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Marjan Zamani
>
> On Mon, Nov 10, 2025 at 2:26 PM Aysha Mahran via eeglablist <
> eeglablist at sccn.ucsd.edu> wrote:
>
>> Hi Makoto,
>> I have recently published an article related to this topic and I am eager
>> to contribute to this project. You can check out my work here
>>
>> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.jendodon.com/article/S0099-2399*2825*2900311-5/abstract__;JSU!!Mih3wA!BISCkIQPraSk2Sz1qTs82ZlwMduBfsn0WPbuHrRDZGbVsRvYvUwTo6H7J2A3VLBwGqVZ2zUp3sqszhN1pQEzzhvvAQ$
>> I used the epoc x from emotiv.
>> Looking forward for the next steps.
>>  Best regards,
>> Aysha
>> BDS, MSc of Endodontics
>>
>>
>> On Sun, 9 Nov 2025 at 9:20 PM 朱修彬 via eeglablist <
>> eeglablist at sccn.ucsd.edu>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > Hi Makoto,
>> >
>> > I am eager to contribute to this project. I have some experience in
>> > machine learning and data analysis.
>> > I would appreciate being included in future discussions.
>> >
>> > Best Regards
>> > Xiubin
>> >
>> >
>> > > -----原始邮件-----发件人:"Makoto Miyakoshi via eeglablist" <
>> > eeglablist at sccn.ucsd.edu>发送时间:2025-11-05 08:07:02 (星期三)收件人:"EEGLAB
>> List" <
>> > eeglablist at sccn.ucsd.edu>抄送:主题:[Eeglablist] Invitation to collaborate
>> on
>> > an open paper about EEG’s 1/f power distribution
>> > >
>> > > Hello EEGLAB mailing list,
>> > >
>> > > Some of you may recall the long, dense, and ever-continuing
>> discussion we
>> > > witnessed this summer about EEG’s 1/f power distribution. I’m sure
>> many
>> > of
>> > > you wondered, “Can they please stop quoting papers while speaking?”
>> That
>> > > conversation seemed to have ended on the list. But it has continued
>> > > off-list! And now, it has led to the idea of writing a collaborative
>> > paper.
>> > >
>> > > We’d like to invite anyone interested to join this open project. You
>> > don’t
>> > > need to be a specialist; genuine curiosity and a willingness to
>> > contribute
>> > > are what matter most.
>> > >
>> > > If you’d like to participate, please reply to this mailing list so
>> that
>> > > everyone can stay in the loop.
>> > >
>> > > For those curious, I’ve also included below a brief history of EEGLAB
>> > > mailing list–initiated publications.
>> > >
>> > > Makoto
>> > >
>> > > %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
>> > > There have been several papers initiated through collaborations among
>> the
>> > > EEGLAB mailing list community and myself. Perhaps the most memorable
>> one
>> > > was the *ICA's bug *paper:
>> > >
>> > >
>> >
>> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/signal-processing/articles/10.3389/frsip.2023.1064138/full__;!!Mih3wA!Cbh-YHezfgaqMmBE5W3ZEgrQrVWaUWYz-KTmrvjznnSBUe4gGGPHnTU4wiXAUjuTUdp3kJzk20zqxfyCe0Sn4D1t7BQ$
>> > >
>> > > We can find the origin of this project in the following post.
>> > >
>> > > *On Fri, May 7, 2021 at 2:25 PM Makoto Miyakoshi <mmiyakoshi at
>> > > ucsd.edu <https://sccn.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/eeglablist    >>
>> > > **Dear subscribers,
>> > > **Recently, there are multiple independent posts about the data rank
>> > > issue **with ICA. In response, I am thinking about running a
>> > > simulation **experiment **with a visiting scholar to SCCN as a small
>> > > project on this issue for **publication. I would appreciate it if you
>> > > can give me any of the **following **as an input.*
>> > >
>> > > I made it festive: I invited a high-school intern to join as a
>> co-author
>> > > (his coding skill was GOOD); I also invited a person whose name had
>> been
>> > > mysteriously engraved for over a decade in an annotation of EEGLAB’s
>> code
>> > > in question; I cited four authorities via unfashionable “private
>> > > communication”; and yes, I gave the paper a catchy title that the
>> first
>> > > author did not like… etc., etc.
>> > >
>> > > >* > On Fri, May 7, 2021 at 2:25 PM Makoto Miyakoshi <mmiyakoshi at
>> > ucsd.edu <https://sccn.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/eeglablist    >>
>> > > *>* wrote:
>> > > *>* >
>> > > *>* >> Dear subscribers,
>> > > *>* >>
>> > > *>* >> Recently, there are multiple independent posts about the data
>> > rank issue
>> > > *>* >> with ICA. In response, I am thinking about running a simulation
>> > > *>* experiment
>> > > *>* >> with a visiting scholar to SCCN as a small project on this
>> issue
>> > for
>> > > *>* >> publication. I would appreciate it if you can give me any of
>> the
>> > > *>* following
>> > > *>* >> as an input.
>> > > *>* >>
>> > > *>* >>   - Questions (what is puzzling for you? No need to be shy for
>> > asking
>> > > *>* >>   'dumb questions')
>> > > *>* >>   - Requests (if you want to know particularly X and/or Y on
>> this
>> > issue,
>> > > *>* >>   I may be able to give you the answer based on the simulation
>> > test)
>> > > *>* >>   - Suggestions (about methods, data type, applications, etc)
>> > > *>* >>   - Reports (when ICA failed, what did you see?)
>> > > *>* >>
>> > > *>* >> If you are interested in working with me to make a contribution
>> > to this
>> > > *>* >> small project, please reply or contact me mmiyakoshi at
>> > > ucsd.edu. <https://sccn.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/eeglablist    > If
>> your
>> > > *>* >> contribution is substantial, I'll offer you to be a coauthor.
>> > Probably
>> > > *>* we
>> > > *>* >> will need as many strange results as possible...?
>> > > *>* >>
>> > > *>* >> Probably this is the first attempt to run an open experiment on
>> > the
>> > > *>* EEGLAB
>> > > *>* >> mailing list--please join us and let's find out what happens!
>> > > *>* >>
>> > > *>* >> Makoto*
>> > > _______________________________________________
>> > > To unsubscribe, send an empty email to
>> > eeglablist-unsubscribe at sccn.ucsd.edu or visit
>> > https://sccn.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/eeglablist   .
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > To unsubscribe, send an empty email to
>> > eeglablist-unsubscribe at sccn.ucsd.edu or visit
>> > https://sccn.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/eeglablist  .
>> _______________________________________________
>> To unsubscribe, send an empty email to
>> eeglablist-unsubscribe at sccn.ucsd.edu or visit
>> https://sccn.ucsd.edu/mailman/listinfo/eeglablist .
>
>