Fractal Cognitive Triad: The Theoretical Connection between Subjective Experience and Neural Oscillations

Authors

  • Justin M. Riddle University of California at Berkeley

Keywords:

Oscillations, Cognition, Fractal, Homunculus, Emergence, Submergence

Abstract

It has long been appreciated that the brain is oscillatory1. Early measurements of brain electrophysiology revealed rhythmic synchronization unifying large swaths of the brain. The study of neural oscillation has enveloped cognitive neuroscience and neural systems. The traditional belief that oscillations are epiphenomenal of neuron spiking is being challenged by intracellular oscillations and the theoretical backing that oscillatory activity is fundamental to physics. Subjective experience oscillates at three particular frequency bands in a cognitive triad: perception at 5 Hz (exogenous), action at 2 Hz (endogenous), and attention at 0.1 Hz (cognitive). This triad functions as a means of information flow across scales of magnitude in a biological fractal. The Homunculus Solution is proposed in which mental experience occurs at fixed scales of biology. The mind is composed of minds, perceived as "the voices in your head." Each voice has voices inside its head to increasingly microscopic scales, forming an interactive fractal of subjective experience.

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Published

27-10-2015

How to Cite

Riddle, J. M. (2015). Fractal Cognitive Triad: The Theoretical Connection between Subjective Experience and Neural Oscillations. Cosmos and History: The Journal of Natural and Social Philosophy, 11(2), 130–145. Retrieved from http://cosmosandhistory.org/index.php/journal/article/view/508