3-Nov-2025
Brains and stock markets follow the same rules in crisis, study finds
Michigan Medicine - University of MichiganPeer-Reviewed Publication
Brains and stock markets might seem completely different, but they behave in surprisingly similar ways. Both are complex systems that normally operate in a delicate state of balance, a condition scientists call criticality, where they function at their most flexible, efficient, and informative. When that balance is disrupted, the system can suddenly tip into crisis, losing those advantages. A University of Michigan team discovered that both types of transitions occur not only in the brain during anesthesia as patients lose and regain consciousness, but also in financial markets as they collapse and recover during economic crises.
- Journal
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Funder
- NIH/National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Research Foundation of Korea