Exploration of relations between many-body field theory and the nonlinear brain dynamics that underlies cognitive behavior

We explore the feasibility of interpreting neurophysiological data in terms of many-body physics by using tools physicists have devised to analyze comparable hierarchies in their fields. We focus on a mesoscopic level between the microscopic functions of neurons and macroscopic functions of brain systems revealed by behavior and fMRI. We use ECoGs collected from high-density arrays fixed on the surfaces of primary sensory and limbic areas in rabbits and cats trained to discriminate conditioned stimuli in the various modalities. We analyze the phenomena using concepts of energy dissipation, phase transition, genesis by cortex of multiple ground states seen in ECoG patterns, and pattern selection by spontaneous symmetry breakdown.