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The holonomic brain theory, originated by psychologist Karl Pribram and initially developed in collaboration with physicist David Bohm, is a model for human cognition that is drastically different from conventionally accepted ideas: Pribram and Bohm posit a model of cognitive function as being guided by a matrix of neurological wave interference patterns situated temporally between holographic Gestalt perception and discrete, affective, quantum vectors derived from reward anticipation potentials.

Pribram was originally struck by the similarity of the hologram idea and Bohm's idea of the implicate order in physics, and contacted him for collaboration. In particular, the fact that information about an image point is distributed throughout the hologram, such that each piece of the hologram contains some information about the entire image, seemed suggestive to Pribram about how the brain could encode memories. (Pribram, 1987). Pribram was encouraged in this line of speculation by the fact that DeValois and DeValois (1980) had found that "the spatial frequency encoding displayed by cells of the visual cortex was best described as a Fourier transform of the input pattern." (Pribram, 1987) This holographic idea lead to the coining of the term "holonomic" to describe the idea in wider contexts than just holograms.

Lens-defined model of brain function

In this model, each sense functions as a lens, refocusing wave patterns either by perceiving a specific pattern or context as swirls, or by discerning discrete grains or quantum units. David Bohm has said that if you take the lenses away, what you are left with is a hologram.

According to Pribram and Bohm, "future orientation" is the essence of cognitive function, which they have attempted to define through use of the Fourier theorem and quantum mechanical formulae. According to Pribram, the tuning of wave frequency in cells of the primary visual cortex plays a role in visual imaging, while such tuning in the auditory system has been well established for decades. Pribram and colleagues also assert that similar tuning occurs in the somatosensory cortex.

Pribram distinguishes between propagative nerve impulses on the one hand, and slow potentials (hyperpolarizations, steep polarizations) that are essentially static. At this temporal interface, he indicates, the wave interferences form holographic patterns.

Pribram has written, "What the data suggest is that there exists in the cortex, a multidimensional holographic-like process serving as an attractor or set point toward which muscular contractions operate to achieve a specified environmental result. The specification has to be based on prior experience (of the species or the individual) and stored in holographic-like form. Activation of the store involves patterns of muscular contractions (guided by basal ganglia, cerebellar, brain stem and spinal cord) whose sequential operations need only to satisfy the 'target' encoded in the image of achievement much as the patterns of sequential operations of heating and cooling must meet the setpoint of the thermostat."

Quantum dynamics of free will

According to this theory, waveforms, within the matrix of a distributed system, allow fluctuations taking place to create new patterns, according to Pribram, and the resulting dynamic potential can then organize new foci of activity oriented to the precipitation of strategic planning and exercise of free will.

In a 1998 interview, Pribram addressed the understanding of cognitive potential, stating that, "(I)f you get into your potential mode, then new things can happen. But usually free will is conceived of in terms of how many constraints are operating, and we have in statistics a notion of degrees of freedom. I think our will essentially is constrained, more or less. We have so many degrees of freedom, and the more degrees of freedom we have, the more we feel free, and we have freedom of choice."

See also

References

  • Karen K. DeValois, Russell L. DeValois, and W. W. Yund. "Responses of Striate Cortex Cells to Grating and Checkerboard Patterns", Journal of Physiology, vol 291, 483-505, 1979.
  • Russel L. DeValois and Karen K. DeValois, "Spatial vision", Ann. Rev. Psychol, 31, 309-41, (1980)
  • Paul Pietsch, "Shuffle Brain", Harper's, May, 1972, online
  • Paul Pietsch, Shufflebrain: The Quest for the Hologramic Mind, Houghton-Mifflin, 1981, ISBN 0-395-29480-0. 2nd edition 1996: online: Shufflebrain: The Quest of Hologramic Mind: an in-depth but non-technical look at experiments on the neural hologram
  • Karl H. Pribram, "The Implicate Brain", in B. J. Hiley and F. David Peat, (eds) Quantum Implications: Essays in Honour of David Bohm, Routledge, 1987 ISBN 0-415-06960-2
  • --- 'Holonomic Brain Theory and Motor Gestalts: Recent Experimental Results', (1997) TransPersonals.com

External links

  • Scholarpedia - 'Article on Holonomic Brain Theory' by Karl Pribram, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
  • ACSA2000.net - 'Comparison between Karl Pribram's "Holographic Brain Theory" and more conventional models of neuronal computation', Jeff Prideaux
  • NIH.gov - 'Concept-matching in the brain depends on serotonin and gamma-frequency shifts' M. B. Bayly, Medical Hypotheses Vol 65, No 1, pp 149-51, 2005
  • ReutersHealth.com - 'Celebrity photos prompt memory study breakthrough: Scientists at two California universities have isolated single neurons responsible for holding the memory of an image' (June 23, 2005)
  • ToeQuest.com - 'Holonomic Brain Theory: Holographic Theory offers answers for two main paradoxes, Nature of mind and Non-locality'
  • TWM.co.nz - 'The Holographic Brain: Karl Pribram, Ph.D. interview', Dr. Jeffrey Mishlove (1998)
  • WorldChiropracticAlliance.org - 'The neural hologram', Dr. Christopher Kent, The Chiropractic Journal (September, 2003)
Karl H. Pribram (born February 25, 1919 in Vienna, Austria) is Distiguished Professor at Georgetown and George Mason Univerisites and emeritus professor of Psychology and Psychiatry at Stanford and Radford Universities.
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David Joseph Bohm (b. December 20 1917, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania - d. October 27 1992, London) was an American-born quantum physicist who made significant contributions in the fields of theoretical physics, philosophy and neuropsychology, and to the Manhattan Project.
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Cognition is a diffuse term, used in different ways by different disciplines. In psychology, it refers to an information processing view of an individual's psychological functions.
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Interference is the addition (superposition) of two or more waves that results in a new wave pattern.

As most commonly used, the term interference usually refers to the interaction of waves which are correlated or coherent with each other, either because they
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Holography (from the Greek, όλος-hòlòs whole + γραφή-grafè write) is the science of producing holograms
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Gestalt is a German word that can be translated into English in various ways:
  • as shape, form, guise or likeness (e.g., in Menschengestalt: in human form)
  • as figure or as a synonym for person (e.g.

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“Quanta” redirects here. For other uses, see Quantum (disambiguation).

Development of quantum theory

Quantum theory, the branch of physics which is based on quantization, began in 1900 when Max Planck published his theory explaining the
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incentive is any factor (financial or non-financial) that provides a motive for a particular course of action, or counts as a reason for preferring one choice to the alternatives.
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implicate and explicate order, described in the book Wholeness and the Implicate Order:

In the enfolded [or implicate] order, space and time are no longer the dominant factors determining the relationships of dependence or independence of different

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lens (or lense) is an optical device with perfect or approximate axial symmetry which transmits and refracts light, concentrating or diverging the beam. A simple lens is a lens consisting of a single optical element.
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Holography (from the Greek, όλος-hòlòs whole + γραφή-grafè write) is the science of producing holograms
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In mathematics, the Fourier theorem is a theorem stating that a periodic function f(x), which is reasonably continuous, may be expressed as the sum of a series of sine and cosine terms (called the Fourier series), each of which has specific amplitude and phase
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The term visual cortex refers to the primary visual cortex (also known as striate cortex or V1) and extrastriate visual cortical areas such as V2, V3, V4, and V5.
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The auditory system is the sensory system for the sense of hearing.

Ear

Main article: Ear

Outer ear

Main article: Outer ear

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The lateral postcentral gyrus is a prominent structure in the parietal lobe of the human brain and an important landmark. It was initially defined from surface stimulation studies of Penfield, and parallel surface potential studies of Bard, Woolsey, and Marshall.
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Hyperpolarization has several meanings:
  • In biology, hyperpolarization (biology) occurs when the strength of the electric field across the width of a cell membrane increases.

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The basal ganglia (or basal nuclei) are a group of nuclei in the brain interconnected with the cerebral cortex, thalamus and brainstem. Mammalian basal ganglia are associated with a variety of functions: motor control, cognition, emotions and learning.
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The cerebellum (Latin: "little brain") is a region of the brain that plays an important role in the integration of sensory perception and motor output. Many neural pathways link the cerebellum with the motor cortex—which sends information to the muscles causing them
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The brain stem is the lower part of the brain, adjoining and structurally continuous with the spinal cord. Most sources consider the pons, medulla oblongata, and midbrain all to be part of the brainstem.
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spinal chord is a thin, tubular bundle of nerves that is an extension of the central nervous system from the brain and is enclosed in and protected by the bony vertebral column.
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359, 1805–1809.
  • Hofstadter, Douglas. (2007) I Am A Strange Loop. Basic Books. ISBN 978-0465030781
  • Kane, Robert (1998). The Significance of Free Will. New York: Oxford University Press ISBN 0-19-512656-4
  • Lawhead, William F. (2005).
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    • 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
    1960s  1970s  1980s  - 1990s -  2000s  2010s  2020s
    1995 1996 1997 - 1998 - 1999 2000 2001

    Year 1998 (MCMXCVIII
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    Consciousness is a characteristic of the mind generally regarded to comprise qualities such as subjectivity, self-awareness, sentience, sapience, and the ability to perceive the relationship between oneself and one's environment.
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    Evolutionary neuroscience is an emerging field of scientific research premised on the hypothesis that the principles of evolution will help elucidate the adaptational difference between humans and animals in aspects of neurological structure and capacity.
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    A gamma wave is a pattern of brain waves, associated with perception and consciousness. Gamma waves are produced when masses of neurons emit electrical signals at the rate of around 40 times a second (40 hertz or Hz), but can often be between 26 and upwards of 70 Hz.
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    Sensory Integration Dysfunction (SID, also called sensory processing disorder) is a neurological disorder causing difficulties with processing information from the five classic senses (vision, auditory, touch, olfaction, and taste), the sense of movement (vestibular
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    This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject.
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    implicate and explicate order, described in the book Wholeness and the Implicate Order:

    In the enfolded [or implicate] order, space and time are no longer the dominant factors determining the relationships of dependence or independence of different

    ..... Click the link for more information.
    Harper's Magazine (or simply Harper's) is a monthly general-interest magazine covering literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts from a progressive, left perspective.
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