AUTHOR=Edelman Gerald M., Gally Joseph A.

TITLE=Reentry: a key mechanism for integration of brain function

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Integrative Neuroscience

VOLUME=7

YEAR=2013

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/integrative-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnint.2013.00063

DOI=10.3389/fnint.2013.00063

ISSN=1662-5145

ABSTRACT=<p>Reentry in nervous systems is the ongoing bidirectional exchange of signals along reciprocal axonal fibers linking two or more brain areas. The hypothesis that reentrant signaling serves as a general mechanism to couple the functioning of multiple areas of the cerebral cortex and thalamus was first proposed in 1977 and 1978 (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B12">Edelman, 1978</xref>). A review of the amount and diversity of supporting experimental evidence accumulated since then suggests that reentry is among the most important integrative mechanisms in vertebrate brains (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="B14">Edelman, 1993</xref>). Moreover, these data prompt testable hypotheses regarding mechanisms that favor the development and evolution of reentrant neural architectures.</p>