Many studies have suggested that the brain is in a so-called self-organized critical state (Bak, 1996; Chialvo and Bak, 1999; Linkenkaer-Hansen et al., 2001; Beggs and Plenz, 2003; Chialvo, 2004, 2007, 2010; Poil et al., 2008; He et al., 2010;
Overview of self-organized criticality (SOC)
There are many articles about self-organized criticality (SOC). I have here collected links to some of my online articles on SOC. These articles contain many references, which should lead you further in your study of SOC. General overview articles Introduction
Article: Avalanche dynamics of human brain oscillations: Relation to critical branching processes and temporal correlations
Human Brain Mapping, Volume 29 Issue 7, Pages 770-777