“Large-scale signatures of unconsciousness are consistent with a departure from critical dynamics”
http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/13/114/20151027
Based on the above recent study, David Shultz has written an article in http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/01/consciousness-may-be-product-carefully-balanced-chaos
“Consciousness may be the product of carefully balanced chaos”.
They suggest that brain normally works in a kind of chaotic state, while in unconsciousness (maybe coma?), there will be more order.
There are some simple chaotic models of the brain [1] and some papers referring to the investigation of some disorders from nonlinear dynamics standpoint [2-5]. A chaotic system can maintain its chaotic behavior for some ranges of parameters’ values. However, usually there are some (in fact infinite) periodic windows embedded in the middle of those chaotic ranges. There are some mathematical methods for putting a chaotic system in those windows, or in the opposite direction, for releasing it from being stuck in those periodic locks.
Can we say that we may need a more serious look at the problem of coma, with the glasses of nonlinear dynamic?
Can Edward Lorenz wake Michael Schumacher (we miss him a lot) up?
References:
[1] Baghdadi G, Jafari S, Sprott JC, Towhidkhah F, Hashemi Golpayegani SMR. A chaotic model of sustaining attention problem in attention deficit disorder. Communications in Nonlinear Science and Numerical Simulation. 2015;20:174-85.
[2] Jafari S, Ansari Z, Hashemi Golpayegani SMR, Gharibzadeh S. Is attention a" period window" in the chaotic brain? The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences. 2013;25:E05.
[3] Jafari S, Baghdadi G, Hashemi Golpayegani SMR, Towhidkhah F, Gharibzadeh S. Is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder a kind of intermittent chaos? The Journal of neuropsychiatry and clinical neurosciences. 2013;25:E2.
[4] Jafari S, Hashemi Golpayegani SMR, Gharibzadeh S. Is there any geometrical information in the nervous system? Frontiers in computational neuroscience. 2013;7.
[5] Hadaeghi F, Hashemi Golpayegani SMR, Jafari S, Murray G. Towards a complex system understanding of bipolar disorder: A chaotic model of abnormal circadian activity rhythms in euthymic bipolar disorder. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. 2016;In Press.
Can you please provide the pdf file too? And, by the way the science mag link is not working.
Just noticed the extra ":" at the end has corrupted the link.
Also, would you call a mentally ill, crazy-mad person to be conscious? Are you investigating thoughtfulness or consciousness?
Dear Vikash,
Thank you. I corrected the link. I cannot attach the pdf file of “Large-scale signatures of unconsciousness are consistent with a departure from critical dynamics”, but the other references can be downloaded from my page in RG.
My focus is on coma, not madness.
Regards,
Sajad
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