| We have found that
perception depends on the simultaneous, cooperative activity of millions
of neurons spread throughout expanses of the cortex. Such global activity
can be identified, measured and explained only if one adopts a macroscopic
view alongside the microscopic one. There is an analogy to this approach
in music. To grasp the beauty in a choral piece, it is not enough to listen
to the individual singers sequentially. One must hear the performers together,
as they modulate their voices and timing in response to one another.
Our studies have led us as well to the discovery in the brain of chaos - complex behavior that seems random but actually has some hidden order. The chaos is evident in the tendency of vast collections of neurons to shift abruptly and simultaneously from one complex activity pattern to another in response to the smallest of inputs. This changeability is a prime characteristic of many chaotic systems. It is not harmful in the brain. In fact, we propose it is the very property that makes perception possible. We also speculate that chaos underlies the ability of the brain to respond flexibly to the outside world and to generate novel activity patterns, including those that are experienced as fresh ideas. The Physiology of Perception, by Walter Freeman: Scientific American, February 1991 Vol. 264, No. 2, pp.34-41 |