Emergent complexity and rhythms in evoked and spontaneous dynamics of human whole-brain models after tuning through analysis tools

Abstract: The simulation of whole-brain dynamics should reproduce realistic spontaneous and evoked neural activity across different scales, including emergent rhythms, spatio-temporal activation patterns, and macroscale complexity. Once a mathematical model is selected, its configuration must be determined by properly setting its parameters. A critical preliminary step in this process is defining an appropriate set of observables to guide the selection of model configurations (parameter tuning), laying the groundwork for quantitative calibration of accurate whole-brain models. Here, we address this challenge by presenting a framework that integrates two complementary tools: The Virtual Brain (TVB) platform for simulating whole-brain dynamics, and the Collaborative Brain Wave Analysis Pipeline (Cobrawap) for analyzing the simulations using a set of standardized metrics. We apply this framework to a 998-node human connectome, using two configurations of the Larter-Breakspear neural mass model: one with the TVB default parameters, the other tuned using Cobrawap. The results reveal that the tuned configuration exhibits several biologically relevant features, absent in the default model for both spontaneous and evoked dynamics. In response to external perturbations, the tuned model generates non-stereotyped, complex spatio-temporal activity, as measured by the perturbational complexity index. In spontaneous activity, it displays robust alpha-band oscillations, infra-slow rhythms, scale-free characteristics, greater spatio-temporal heterogeneity, and asymmetric functional connectivity. This work demonstrates the potential of combining TVB and Cobrawap to guide parameter tuning and lays the groundwork for data-driven calibration and validation of accurate whole-brain models.