Physics of Life ReviewsPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-11-30DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2025.11.009
Anja Pahor
{"title":"Comment on “To enhance or not to enhance: A debate about cognitive enhancement from a psychological and neuroscientific perspective” by Sandra Grinschgl, Manuel Ninaus, Guilherme Wood, Aljoscha C. Neubauer","authors":"Anja Pahor","doi":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.11.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.11.009","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>None.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":403,"journal":{"name":"Physics of Life Reviews","volume":"56 ","pages":"Pages 113-114"},"PeriodicalIF":14.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145733236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Physics of Life ReviewsPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-03DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2025.11.007
Luiz Pessoa
{"title":"Beyond networks: Toward adaptive models of biological complexity","authors":"Luiz Pessoa","doi":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.11.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.11.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Network science models have transformed our understanding of complex systems across biology, technology, and society, proving valuable in neuroscience. However, modeling biological complexity poses specific challenges, calling for expansions of traditional network frameworks. This paper explores constructive ways to enhance models, highlighting opportunities such as incorporating time-varying connections, adaptive topologies, and multilayer structures to better represent the temporal dynamics and multilevel interactions characteristic of biological systems. Additionally, it addresses deeper conceptual challenges, notably the substantial context dependence, open-endedness, and history sensitivity often observed in biology. By reviewing concepts such as Kauffman’s ”adjacent possible,” the discussion emphasizes how biological state spaces themselves may dynamically evolve, suggesting the need for modeling strategies beyond static or pre-specified assumptions. Rather than undermining network science, these considerations highlight areas where traditional formalisms can fruitfully adapt and grow, ultimately deepening their explanatory power. The paper advocates integrating data-driven approaches that dynamically infer system properties from empirical observations, balancing modeling generality with biological specificity. Overall, this synthesis provides an assessment of both the strengths of network science and the challenges it faces, proposing constructive avenues for methodological and conceptual innovation that advance our ability to capture the nuanced complexity inherent in biological phenomena.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":403,"journal":{"name":"Physics of Life Reviews","volume":"56 ","pages":"Pages 67-81"},"PeriodicalIF":14.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145681737","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Physics of Life ReviewsPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-01-21DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2026.01.008
Nicco Reggente , Theo Tobel , Michael Lifshitz
{"title":"Mnemonics, optimization, and leveraging what we already have: Comment on “To enhance or not to enhance: A debate about cognitive enhancement from a psychological and neuroscientific perspective” by Grinschgl, S., Ninaus, M., Wood, G., & Neubauer, A. C","authors":"Nicco Reggente , Theo Tobel , Michael Lifshitz","doi":"10.1016/j.plrev.2026.01.008","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plrev.2026.01.008","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":403,"journal":{"name":"Physics of Life Reviews","volume":"56 ","pages":"Pages 236-238"},"PeriodicalIF":14.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146074003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Physics of Life ReviewsPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2026-01-21DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2026.01.007
Zhu-Qing Gong , Xi-Nian Zuo
{"title":"Illuminating brain’s “dark energy”: a living lens of spontaneous slow oscillations. reply to comments on ‘dark brain energy: toward an integrative model of spontaneous slow oscillations’","authors":"Zhu-Qing Gong , Xi-Nian Zuo","doi":"10.1016/j.plrev.2026.01.007","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plrev.2026.01.007","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In our target article “<em>Dark Brain Energy: Toward an Integrative Model of Spontaneous Slow Oscillations</em>”, we proposed a three-layer hierarchical framework to model the spontaneous slow oscillations (SSOs) across six frequency bands to delineate their spectral architecture, functional roles, and neurocognitive basis. We are grateful for the seven insightful commentary articles from colleagues across neuroscience, physics, mathematics, psychology and clinics, which collectively enrich our framework. In this review, we address five key themes emerging from and inspired by these commentaries: (1) the relationship between SSOs and consciousness, (2) the geometric foundations of SSOs, (3) evolutionary, developmental, and metabolic mechanisms of SSOs, (4) mathematical modeling of traveling waves underlying SSOs, and (5) neuroscientific implications for brain-inspired intelligence. We finally integrate these perspectives to refine our original model and outline future research directions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":403,"journal":{"name":"Physics of Life Reviews","volume":"56 ","pages":"Pages 227-235"},"PeriodicalIF":14.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146073986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Physics of Life ReviewsPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-12DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2025.12.006
Héctor M. Manrique , Ana Magdalena Hurtado
{"title":"Informational inbreeding: a useful concept to add to extant evolutionary theories: Comment on “Homo informatio” by Michael J. Walker","authors":"Héctor M. Manrique , Ana Magdalena Hurtado","doi":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.12.006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.12.006","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":403,"journal":{"name":"Physics of Life Reviews","volume":"56 ","pages":"Pages 115-117"},"PeriodicalIF":14.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145779790","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sirtuins as modulators of infection outcomes in host-pathogen dynamics, comment on \"Sirtuins as modulators of infection outcomes in the battle of host-pathogen dynamics\"","authors":"Yongzheng Han , Zunwen Zheng , Xinxiu Ren , Guangzhen Wu","doi":"10.1016/j.plrev.2026.01.005","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plrev.2026.01.005","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":403,"journal":{"name":"Physics of Life Reviews","volume":"56 ","pages":"Pages 220-222"},"PeriodicalIF":14.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146022966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Physics of Life ReviewsPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-30DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2025.12.009
Matej Hoffmann, Zdenek Straka
{"title":"Toward embodied and action-oriented studies and models of peripersonal space: Comment on “Computational models of peripersonal space representations” by Bertoni et al.","authors":"Matej Hoffmann, Zdenek Straka","doi":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.12.009","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.12.009","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":403,"journal":{"name":"Physics of Life Reviews","volume":"56 ","pages":"Pages 212-214"},"PeriodicalIF":14.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145916578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Physics of Life ReviewsPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-22DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2025.12.014
Han Zhang , Jincan Che
{"title":"From Hierarchical Decoding to State Dependent Computation: “Comment on Neural decoding in brain computer interfaces Hierarchical representations, complexity measures, and dynamical perspectives” by Li et al.","authors":"Han Zhang , Jincan Che","doi":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.12.014","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.12.014","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":403,"journal":{"name":"Physics of Life Reviews","volume":"56 ","pages":"Pages 202-203"},"PeriodicalIF":14.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145836698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Physics of Life ReviewsPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-01DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2025.11.011
Tom Froese , Moritz Kriegleder
{"title":"Mind-body transactions as informational operators: Comment on “Informational embodiment: Computational role of information structure in codes and robots” by A. Pitti, M. Austin, K. Nakajima, and Y. Kuniyoshi","authors":"Tom Froese , Moritz Kriegleder","doi":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.11.011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.11.011","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":403,"journal":{"name":"Physics of Life Reviews","volume":"56 ","pages":"Pages 64-66"},"PeriodicalIF":14.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145681738","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Physics of Life ReviewsPub Date : 2026-03-01Epub Date: 2025-12-05DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2025.12.001
Yuan Zhou, Qing Lu
{"title":"Decoding higher-order tumor-microenvironment interactions via an innovative computational framework: Comment on “High-order interaction modeling of tumor-microenvironment crosstalk for tumor growth” by Che et al","authors":"Yuan Zhou, Qing Lu","doi":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.12.001","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.plrev.2025.12.001","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":403,"journal":{"name":"Physics of Life Reviews","volume":"56 ","pages":"Pages 118-120"},"PeriodicalIF":14.3,"publicationDate":"2026-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145779817","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}