The Subcritical Brain

Book excerpt: Have over a hundred years of brain research revealed all its secrets? This book is motivated by a realization that cortical structure and behavior can be explained by a synergy of seemingly different mathematical notions: global attractors, which define non-invertible neural firing rate dynamics, random graphs, which define connectivity of neural circuit, and prime numbers, which define the dimension and category of cortical operation. Quantum computation is shown to ratify the main conclusion of the book: loosely connected small neural circuits facilitate higher information storage and processing capacities than highly connected large circuits. While these essentially separate mathematical notions have not been commonly involved in the evolution of neuroscience, they are shown in this book to be strongly inter-related in the cortical arena. Furthermore, neurophysiological experiments, as well as observations of natural behavior and evidence found in medical testing of neurologically impaired patients, are shown to support, and to be supported by the mathematical findings.Related Link(s)