Neurodynamics Of Cognition And Consciousness

Experimental evidence in humans and other mammalians indicates that complex neurodynamics is crucial for the emergence of higher-level intelligence. Dynamical neural systems with encoding in limit cycle and non-convergent attractors have gained increasing popularity in the past decade. The role of synchronization, desynchronization, and intermittent synchronization on cognition has been studied extensively by various authors, in particular by authors contributing to the present volume. This book addresses dynamical aspects of brain functions and cognition.

This volume is the proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics (ICCN2013) held in Sweden in 2013. The included papers reflect the large span of research presented and are grouped in ten parts that are organized essentially in a top-down structure. The first parts deal with social/interactive (I) and mental (II) aspects of brain functions and their relation to perception and cognition (III). Next, more specific aspects of sensory systems (IV) and neural network dynamics of brain functions (V), including the effects of oscillations, synchronization and synaptic plasticity (VI), are addressed, followed by papers particularly emphasizing the use of neural computation and information processing (VII). With the next two parts, the levels of cellular and intracellular processes (VIII) and finally quantum effects (IX) are reached. The last part (X) is devoted to the contributions invited by the Dynamic Brain Forum (DBF), which was co-organized with ICCN2013.

Fifty years ago, enthused by successes in creating digital computers and the DNA model of heredity, scientists were con?dent that solutions to the problems of und- standing biological intelligence and creating machine intelligence were within their grasp. Progress at ?rst seemed rapid. Giant ‘brains’ that ?lled air-conditioned rooms were shrunk into briefcases. The speed of computation doubled every two years. What these advances revealed is not the solutions but the dif?culties of the pr- lems. We are like the geographers who ‘discovered’ America, not as a collection of islands but as continents seen only at shores and demanding exploration. We are astounded less by the magnitude of our discoveries about how brains cogitate than by the enormity of the tasks we have undertaken, to explain and replicate the higher functions of brains. Five decades of brain research have led to the emergence of a new ?eld, which spans the entire range of brain cognition from quantum ?elds to social interactions, and which is combined by the conceptions of nonlinear neurodynamics operating simultaneously at and across all levels. A new breed of scientists has emerged, schooled in multiple academic disciplines, comfortable in working with data from different levels, and conversant with the mathematical tools that are essential to cross boundaries.

Within our knowledge, the series of the International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics (ICCN) is the only conference series dedicating to cognitive neurodynamics. This volume is the proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics held in 2009, which reviews the progress in this field since the 1st ICCN -2007. The topics include: Neural coding and realistic neural network dynamics, Neural population dynamics, Firing Oscillations and Patterns in Neuronal Networks, Brain imaging, EEG, MEG, Sensory and Motor Dynamics, Global cognitive function, Multi-scalar Neurodynamics - from Physiology to Systems Theory, Neural computing, Emerging Technologies for Brain Computer Interfaces, Neural dynamics of brain disorders.

Within our knowledge, the series of the International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics (ICCN) is the only conference series dedicating to cognitive neurodynamis. This volume is the proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Cognitive Neurodynamics held in 2011, which reviews the progress in this field since the 1st ICCN - 2007. The topics include: Neural coding and realistic neural network dynamics, Neural population dynamics, Firing Oscillations and Patterns in Neuronal Networks, Brain imaging, EEG, MEG, Sensory and Motor Dynamics, Global cognitive function, Multi-scalar Neurodynamics - from Physiology to Systems Theory, Neural computing, Emerging Technologies for Brain Computer Interfaces, Neural dynamics of brain disorders.

Bernard Baars suggests a way to specify empirical constraints on a theory of consciousness by contrasting well-established conscious phenomena with comparable unconscious ones, such as stimulus representations known to be preperceptual, unattended or habituated. By adducing data to show that consciousness is associated with a kind of workplace in the nervous system, Baars helps clarify the problem.