The Role of Chaos in Hemispheric Process and Attention
Abstract
The recent application of chaos theory to interpret various brain functions suggests it's usefulness for understanding potentially confusing and often conflictual results in the area of hemispheric processing. There appears to be inherent relationships between elements of chaos theory and the nature of hemispheric processes especially when viewed from an attentional resources perspective. The goal of this paper is to elucidate these relations by interpreting some data on hemispheric pattern recognition in a chaos theory framework. In order to interpret such data, theoretical models as well as specific concepts in attention, hemispheric processing, and chaos will be reviewed. A chaos-attentional model will be proposed along with certain rules of determination that predict the appearance of chaos in hemispheric processes. In conclusion, the paper will address some recent metaphors for Hofstadter (1979, 1985) that are supportive of this view of cognitive process. Keywords: Chaos theory, Turbulent flow; Nonlinear systems; Hemispheric asymmetry; Visual recognition; Attention and cognition; Cerebral cortex; Human performance.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA217674
Entities
People
- Michael D. Mcneese
Organizations
- Armstrong Laboratory