Synergetics may be considered as an interdisciplinary effort dealing with the gene­ ral problem of how science can cope with complex systems. The preceding symposia on synergetics were devoted to systems of physics, chemistry and partly also biolo­ gy and sociology. It was possible to develop adequate concepts to describe and even to calculate evolving macroscopic spatial, temporal, and functional structures which emerge through self-organization of the individual parts of the systems under con­ sideration. This book contains the invited papers presented at the Symposium on the Synerge­ tics of the brain, Schloss Elmau, Bavaria, May 2 to 7, 1983. The inclusion of this topic in the synergetics enterprise represents a big step towards a treatment of complex systems. Most probably the human brain is the most complex system we know of. As the organizers believe, this symposium provides the reader with a good cross section of experimental results and theoretical approaches to cope with the complex problems of structure and function of the brain. It was generally felt that such a joint meeting between experimentalists and theoreticians is of great importance for future development of this field. Modern experimental methods, e. g. multielectrode derivations allow or will allow us, in short, to collect huge amounts of data. Simi­ larly high-speed computers will flood us with an enormous number of outputs once the basic model equations have been chosen.

Inhalt

Introductory Remarks.- Synopsis and Introduction.- 1 Experimental Results.- 1. 1 Formation and Structure of Nervous Systems.- Vertical and Tangential Organization in the Neocortex.- Cell Biological Aspects of Neuronal Communication: Trophic Interactions in the Developing and Adult Nervous System.- Self-Organization in Synaptogenesis: Interaction Between the Formation of Excitatory and Inhibitory Synapses.- 1. 2 Plasticity, Auto-Adaption.- Control of Plastic Processes.- Reorganization of Neuronal Circuitry in the Vestibular System Following Unilateral Labyrinthine Removal.- Neuronal Activity as an Shaping Factor in the Self-Organization of Neuron Assemblies.- Dynamics of Image Formation by Nerve Cell Assemblies.- Auto-Adaptive Control of Central Plasticity: Observations and Speculations.- 1. 3 Nonequilibrium Phase Transitions.- Neurodynamics of the Oculomotor System: Space-Time Recoding and a Non-Equilibrium Phase Transition.- 1. 4 Synergetic Effects Caused by Molecular Inputs.- Evidence for Synergetic Dynamics in a Mammalian Pituitary Cell Perifusion System.- Opiomelanocortins, Learning and Memory: Significance of Multiple Behavioural Information in One Polypeptide Molecule.- 1. 5 Multi-Electrodes.- A Multi-Electrode Matrix for Studies of Temporal Signal Correlations Within Neural Assemblies.- 1. 6 EEG and Synergetics of Neural Populations.- Synergetics of Neuronal Populations. A Survey on Experiments.- 1. 7 Field Effects on Neural Nets.- Molecular Aspects of Cell Membranes as Substrates for Interaction with Electromagnetic Fields.- 2 Theoretical Approaches.- 2. 1 Pattern Formation in the Inanimate World.- Pattern Selection in Cellular Structures.- Nonstationary Structures - Chaos and Order.- 2. 2 Modelling Self-Organization and Performance of Neural Nets.- How are Nervous Structures Organized?.- Cooperation and Competition in Central Nervous System Development: A Unifying Approach.- Representation of Information in Spatial Maps which are Produced by Self-Organization.- Neural Substrates of Binocular Form Perception: Filtering, Matching, Diffusion, and Resonance.- Cooperative Neural Processes in Amphibian Visual Prey Recognition.- A Comparative Analysis of Structure and Chaos in Models of Single Nerve Cells and Circadian Rhythms.- The Role of Chaos in Reliable Information Processing.- Solitons and Bioenergetics.- Theoretical Psychopathology: An Application of Dynamical Systems Theory to Human Behavior.- From Chemical Homology to Topological Temperature: A Notion Relating the Structure and Function of Brain Polypeptides.- Index of Contributors.