Nonlinear Brain Dynamics and Many-Body Field Dynamics

Abstract

We report measurements of the brain activity of subjects engaged in behavioral exchanges with their environments. We observe brain states characterized by coordinated oscillation of populations of neurons, which are changing rapidly with the evolution of the meaningful relationship between the subject and its environment, established and maintained by active perception. Sequential spatial patterns of neural activity with high information content found in sensory cortices of trained animals between onsets of conditioned stimuli and conditioned responses resemble cinematographic frames. They are not readily amenable to description either with classical integrodifferential equations or with the matrix algebras of neural networks. Their modeling is provided by field theory from condensed matter physics.

Keywords:

• Neocortex
• Neurodynamics
• Nonlinear brain dynamics
• Phase transitions
• Quantum field theory