Emergence and Synchronization in Chaotic Oscillators and in the Human Cortical Network

TL;DR

This paper explores how complex systems such as the human brain and chaotic oscillators exhibit emergence and synchronization, using network, chaos, and synchronization theories to understand their collective behaviors.

Contribution

It introduces a multidisciplinary approach combining network, chaos, and synchronization theories to analyze emergence in both biological and physical complex systems.

Findings

Synchronization observed in chaotic oscillators

Emergent properties identified in human cortical networks

Network interactions facilitate complex system behaviors

Abstract

When we look at the world around us, we see complex physical systems and emergent phenomena. Emergence occurs when a system is observed to have properties that its parts do not have on their own. These properties or behaviors emerge only when the parts interact in a wider whole. Examples of emergence can vary from the synchronization of pendulum clocks hanging on the same wall to the phenomenon of life as an emergent property of chemistry. One of the most complex systems that exist in nature is the human brain. It contains on average 100 to 200 billion neurons and about 100 trillion synapses connecting them. From this vast neuronal dynamics, the ability to learn and store memory emerges as well as the ability to have complex cognitive skills, conscious experience and a sense of self. In this work, we investigated how complex systems like the human brain and chaotic systems create emergent properties. In order to do so, we used network theory (paper 1), chaos and synchronization theory (paper 2 and 3).