The Cortical Informational Field Theory (CIFT) posits that the near-critical cortical regime (RC³) emerges in localized cortical patches characterized by elevated structural richness and an excitation-inhibition balance operating near criticality (λ ≈ 0) within a mesoscopic Ginzburg-Landau framework. This paper examines the genomic foundations of these RC³ patches through a systematic narrative review of monozygotic twin studies in structural and functional neuroimaging. Converging evidence supports three main levels: cortical architecture — thickness, surface area, and myelination — exhibits high heritability in adults, with a spatial gradient concentrating genetic control in prefrontal, parietal, and temporal association regions overlapping with predicted RC³ structural richness; modular organization of the cortex, including patch boundaries, hierarchy, and topography, is under substantial genetic determination; and near-critical dynamics themselves show a detectable genetic component, although with less empirical robustness than structural findings. Studies of monozygotic twin pairs discordant for ADHD show that total cortical volume is preserved between phenotypically divergent twins, while differences concentrate in subcortical structures and epigenomic profiles. This dissociation supports the central claim of the paper: the genome primarily fixes the topology of RC³ patches, while the environment modulates the dynamic trajectory of the system within that potential landscape. Nine testable predictions are derived, and implications for diagnosis, educational intervention, and the CIFT-EXEC protocol are discussed.
Stjepovic-Gonzalez Danko (Fri,) studied this question.