<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><xml><records><record><source-app name="HighWire" version="7.x">Drupal-HighWire</source-app><ref-type name="Journal Article">17</ref-type><contributors><authors><author><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Bernard, Christophe</style></author></authors><secondary-authors></secondary-authors></contributors><titles><title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Brain’s Best Kept Secret: Degeneracy</style></title><secondary-title><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">eneuro</style></secondary-title></titles><dates><year><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2023</style></year><pub-dates><date><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">2023-11-01 00:00:00</style></date></pub-dates></dates><elocation-id><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">ENEURO.0430-23.2023</style></elocation-id><doi><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">10.1523/ENEURO.0430-23.2023</style></doi><volume><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">10</style></volume><issue><style face="normal" font="default" size="100%">11</style></issue><abstract><style  face="normal" font="default" size="100%">Neuroscientists endeavor to unravel the mysteries of brain functions and dysfunctions. A common research strategy involves measuring specific parameters across various conditions. These measurements are then typically repeated, averaged, and used to infer general patterns or rules. The act of averaging data is an ancient practice; for instance, early astronomers in Babylonian, Chinese, and Indian cultures implicitly averaged observations of celestial phenomena to predict significant periods, such as those crucial for agriculture.Averaging is a sound approach when the process being studied follows to a mathematical function, represented as y = f(x), where f is a very general function. This is true even if the exact function is not known at the outset of the experiments. Implicit in this method is the assumption that any variations in measurements arise from imperfections in the recording process since a consistent mathematical rule suggests that identical inputs should always yield the same output. In essence, every time we encounter x1, we expect to measure y1.However, a pervasive assumption in neuroscience is that everything we measure conforms to the rule y = f(x). This assumption overlooks a fundamental concept inherent to life: degeneracy. Degeneracy refers to the occurrence of different processes or structures leading to the same result. Take the function y = f(x), where f is the square root. The equation √4 yields two answers: −2 and +2. This dual solution exemplifies degeneracy. Square the two values, and you get 4. Two different processes lead to the same result.Imagine we have a machine designed to compute square roots, but it lacks precision. Whenever it calculates √4, it might produce different results such as 2.01, 1.99, −2.08, and so on. If we were to average these results, we would get a value close to 0. This average obscures the real phenomenon, where …</style></abstract></record></records></xml>