Plasma Brain Dynamics (PBD): A Mechanism for EEG Waves Under Human Consciousness
John Z. Ma
March 25, 2017
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | The authors propose that EEG signals are nonlinear solitary waves whose formation and propagation follow the same mechanism as waves in space plasmas. Numerical simulations suggest Group-1 complex waves (a, b, g) contain ion-acoustic, lower-hybrid, and ion-cyclotron modes, while Group-2 simple waves (q, d) fall within the ion-acoustic band with sinusoidal, sawtooth, or spiky/bipolar envelopes. |
Abstract
EEG signals are records of nonlinear solitary waves in human brains. The waves have several types (e.g., a, b, g, q, d) in response to different levels of consciousness. They are classified into two groups: Group-1 consists of complex storm-like waves (a, b, and g); Group-2 is composed of simple quasilinear waves (q and d). In order to elucidate the mechanism of EEG wave formation and propagation, this paper extends the Vlasov-Maxwell equations of Plasma Brain Dynamics (PBD) to a set of two-fluid, self-similar, nonlinear solitary wave equations. Numerical simulations are performed for different EEG signals. Main results include: (1) The excitation and propagation of the EEG wave packets are dependent of electric and magnetic fields, brain aqua-ions, electron and ion temperatures, masses, and their initial fluid speeds; (2) Group-1 complex waves contain three ingredients: the high-frequency ion-acoustic (IA) mode, the intermediate-frequency lower-hybrid (LH) mode, and the low-frequency ion-cyclotron (IC) mode; (3) Group-2 simple waves fall within the IA band, featured by one or a combination of the three envelopes: sinusoidal, sawtooth, and spiky/bipolar. The study proposes an alternative model to Quantum Brain Dynamics (QBD) by suggesting that the formation and propagation of the nonlinear solitary EEG waves in the brain have the same mechanism as that of the waves in space plasmas