AN ERGODIC THEORY OF CONSCIOUSNESS

Abstract

It has been suggested that the properties of "integration" and "differentiation" are necessary for the emergence of consciousness. We present a dynamical system model that is based on these two conditions. The collection of neurons are partitioned into clusters on which we define a map that reflects the communication between clusters. Such a map displays the forward and backward circuitry between clusters in a probabilistic manner. The presence of "re-entry" guarantees that the map is sufficiently complex, that is, nonlinear and chaotic, to possess numerous invariant sets of clusters, which are referred to as agglomerations. We suggest that an agglomeration that is mixing characterizes a conscious state. The model establishes a theoretical framework that may structure and encourage experimental work.