Cortical coordination dynamics and cognition

New imaging techniques in cognitive neuroscience have produced a deluge of information correlating cognitive and neural phenomena. Yet our understandi ng of the inter-relationship between brain and mind remains hampered by the lack of a theoretical language for expressing cognitive functions in neura l terms. We propose an approach to understanding operational laws in cognit ion based on principles of coordination dynamics that are derived from a si mple and experimentally verified theoretical model. When applied to the dyn amical properties of cortical areas and their coordination, these principle s support a mechanism of adaptive inter-area pattern constraint that we pos tulate underlies cognitive operations generally.