Resonance Complexity Theory and the Architecture of Consciousness: A Field-Theoretic Model of Resonant Interference and Emergent Awareness

TL;DR

Resonance Complexity Theory (RCT) proposes that consciousness emerges from stable interference patterns of neural oscillations, modeled through a neural field simulation demonstrating resonance-based attractors as a basis for awareness.

Contribution

The paper introduces RCT, a novel framework linking neural oscillation interference patterns to consciousness, supported by a minimal neural field simulation.

Findings

Resonance-based attractors can arise from wave interference physics.

The Complexity Index (CI) correlates with conscious system properties.

Simulation shows emergent resonance patterns meeting theoretical thresholds.

Abstract

This paper introduces Resonance Complexity Theory (RCT), which proposes that consciousness emerges from stable interference patterns of oscillatory neural activity. These patterns, shaped by recursive feedback and constructive interference, must exceed critical thresholds in complexity, coherence, gain, and fractal dimensionality to give rise to conscious experience. The resulting spatiotemporal attractors encode subjective awareness as dynamic resonance structures distributed across the neural field, enabling large-scale integration without symbolic representation or centralized control. To formalize this idea, we define the Complexity Index (CI), a composite metric that synthesizes four core properties of conscious systems: fractal dimensionality (D), signal gain (G), spatial coherence (C), and attractor dwell time (tau). These elements are combined multiplicatively to capture the emergence and persistence of structured, integrative neural states. To test the theory empirically, we developed a biologically inspired yet minimal neural field simulation composed of radial wave sources emitting across a continuous 2D space. The system exhibits recursive constructive interference, producing coherent, attractor-like excitation patterns without external input, regional coding, or imposed structure. These patterns meet the theoretical thresholds for CI and reflect the core dynamics predicted by RCT. The findings demonstrate that resonance-based attractors -- and by extension, consciousness-like dynamics -- can arise purely from the physics of wave interference. RCT thus offers a unified, dynamical framework for modeling awareness as an emergent property of organized complexity in oscillatory systems.