COMPOSITE CORTICAL NETWORKS AS SYSTEMS OF MULTIMODAL OSCILLATORS

This paper uses a theory of coordinated firing patterns in local corti cal networks to extend the modular view of cortical organization into a theory of the structure of neuroelectric signaling in composite regi ons of cortex that are the size of association or primary receiving ar eas. The theory assumes that individual cortical modules signal inform ational states according to particular modes of locally sustained recu rrent reverberations, and that the resultant equilibrium configuration s across entire composite cortical regions are determined by excitator y and inhibitory lateral interactions among large numbers of such modu les. Rough computer simulation of the theory indicates the influences of the local, regional, and global interconnections and the general ch aracter of the composite network patterns. The work builds a tentative theoretical bridge across the structure of neuroelectric signals in s ingle neurons, in local networks, and in composite networks, and indic ates possible relationships to neuropsychological representations in c omposite networks.