Creation of knowledge meaning manifested via cortical singularities in cognition: Towards a methodology to understand intentionality and critical behavior in neural correlates of awareness

摘要

Experimental and theoretical approaches aiming at the establishment of neural correlates of higher cognitive functions and awareness have been extensively studied in the past decade. Information-theoretical indices are useful tools in establishing quantitative metrics when analyzing data of cognitive experiments. In this work we report a systematic statistical analysis of multiple runs of ECoG measurements over the rabbit visual cortex. The results are interpreted invoking the concept of Pragmatic Information, which is complementary to the Shannon Entropy Index. We interpret these finding based on a dynamical system approach to brains and cognition. We identify large-scale synchronization across broad frequency band as potential manifestation of the ‘aha’ effect, indicating the construction of knowledge and meaning from input sensory data and leading to awareness experience.