Chapter 26 - Neurodynamical approaches to consciousness

Summary

The central idea of this chapter is the notion of dynamics, the dynamics of neural activity, the dynamics of conscious experience, and the relation between them. The chapter advocates a neurodynamical approach to consciousness that integrates mathematical tools of analysis and modeling, sophisticated physiological data recordings, and detailed phenomenological descriptions. The entirety of the chapter is concerned with the properties of dynamical systems, and why are they of interest in relation to consciousness. It presents an overview of the basic intuition underlying dynamical approaches to consciousness. The intuitive convergence of complex dynamical patterns in experience and in brain activity suggests that the framework of dynamical systems theory could offer a valuable way of bridging the two domains of brain activity and subjective experience. The chapter explores this guiding intuition discussing formal dynamical systems, neurobiological theories based on dynamical system principles, and the attempt to distinguish dynamical structures.