PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Nima Dehghani TI - Theoretical principles of multiscale spatiotemporal control of neuronal networks: a complex systems perspective AID - 10.1101/097618 DP - 2017 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 097618 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/01/01/097618.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/01/01/097618.full AB - Success in the fine control of the nervous system depends on a deeper understanding of how neural circuits control behavior. There is, however, a wide gap between the components of neural circuits and behavior. We advance the idea that a suitable approach for narrowing this gap has to be based on a multiscale information-theoretic description of the system. We evaluate the possibility that brain-wide complex neural computations can be dissected into a hierarchy of computational motifs that rely on smaller circuit modules interacting at multiple scales. In doing so, we draw attention to the importance of formalizing the goals of stimulation in terms of neural computations so that the possible implementations are matched in scale to the underlying circuit modules.