$1/f$ Noise Outperforms White Noise in Sensitizing Baroreflex Function in the Human Brain

$1 / f$ Noise Outperforms White Noise in Sensitizing Baroreflex Function in the Human Brain

Rika Soma, Daichi Nozaki, Shin Kwak, and Yoshiharu Yamamoto

Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 078101 – Published 11 August 2003

Abstract

We show that externally added $1 / f$ noise more effectively sensitizes the baroreflex centers in the human brain than white noise. We examined the compensatory heart rate response to a weak periodic signal introduced via venous blood pressure receptors while adding $1 / f$ or white noise with the same variance to the brain stem through bilateral cutaneous stimulation of the vestibular afferents. In both cases, this noisy galvanic vestibular stimulation optimized covariance between the weak input signals and the heart rate responses. However, the optimal level with $1 / f$ noise was significantly lower than with white noise, suggesting a functional benefit of $1 / f$ noise for neuronal information transfer in the brain.

Received 1 May 2003

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.91.078101

Authors & Affiliations

Rika Soma^1,2, Daichi Nozaki³, Shin Kwak⁴, and Yoshiharu Yamamoto^1,2,*

¹Educational Physiology Laboratory, Graduate School of Education, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
²PRESTO, Japan Science and Technology Corporation, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
³Research Institute of National Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled, Saitama 359-8555, Japan
⁴Department of Neurology, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113–0033, Japan

^*To whom all correspondence should be addressed. Email address: yamamoto@p.u-tokyo.ac.jp

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Vol. 91, Iss. 7 — 15 August 2003

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