![]() ![]() Mourgue’s (1932) words in mind: “The hallucination…is not a static process but a dynamic process, the instability of which reflects an instability in its condition of origin.” If neurons can be described mathematically in terms of “activators” and “inhibitors”, then that could explain why we see recurring patterns when we hallucinate.Ĭowan believes that we should keep R. In any case, Cowan argues that this Turing mechanism of diffusion and inhibition can be used to explain how visual geometric hallucinations result from brain activity. Whether this explanation for patterns in nature is valid remains to be seen. ![]() a blob or a stripe) and the other can be seen as an inhibitor (preventing the particular quality from being expressed). One can be seen as the activator which expresses a particular quality (e.g. The difference, however, is that the chemicals, which Turing calls morphogens, spread at different rates. These patterns are the result of the interaction of two chemicals that spread throughout a system, like how a gas spreads throughout a box. In this paper, he shows how the stripes on a tiger and the spots on a leopard can naturally occur. One paper which influenced Cowan’s model of how geometric hallucinations occur is Turing’s 1952 paper, The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis. Professor Jack Cowan says that two of the most inspiring intellectuals he has studied have been Claude Shannon (known as the “father of information theory”) and Alan Turing (known as the father of computer science and artificial intelligence). Various conditions such as migraine and epilepsy.Entoptic phenomena (these are visual effects whose source is within the eye or brain itself – you can see entoptic phenomena when you press into your eyes…although don’t do it too hard!).Hypnagogia (For more about this see my other article).Flickering lights (a phenomenon which the scientist Jan Evangelista Purkinje investigated).There are many causes of geometric hallucinations, including: This article is based on a lecture delivered by Professor Jack Cowan at an event entitled ‘A Discussion on Scientific Research with Psychedelic Drugs’ (the conference was chaired by Professor David Nutt at Imperial College London, ). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |