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period doubling bifurcations accumulate (Grassberger, 1981). This is a dust-like
region, which when endlessly dilated looks like the same dust. Some
mathematicians call these objects “Lebesgue points” because even though at low
magnifications when they look rather solid, they are not. Composed of points, they
have topological measure zero (a line has measure one) and non-integer fractal
dimension. These 2 =0, D = Integer, period doubling accumulation points can be
found in a wide variety of attractors, though in each case the parameter space in
which they are located is so small (in point set topology also called “Lebesgue
measure zero”) that they are very difficult to locate and therefore have little chance
of being physiologically significant.
This constrasts with a relatively new category of dynamical systems which
promises to be important in studies of the nervous system. These are ones that are
driven by two or more independent frequencies (called quasiperiodic driving). We
found them to be relevant to brain stem, thalamocortical neurophysiology of
perceptual processes and states of consciousness. They have the properties,
A=0, Do and D; # integer and a characteristic scaling “spectral distribution
function” (see below). They have been named “strange nonchaotic attractors”
(Grebogi et al, 1984; Romeiras et al, 1987; Ding et al, 1989). In addition, the
strange nonchaotic behavior of these quasiperiodically-driven, nonlinear oscillators
has positive (>0) measure in parameter space and thus is of potential physiological
significance. A good demonstration of a multiple frequency driven strange
nonchaotic attractor can be found and manipulated in the software package of
Nusse and Yorke (1991).
The neurobiological substrate for this system is the brain stem neuronal
modulatory driving of on- going thalamocortcal oscillatory brain waves (once called
“recruitment waves” in the 7-14 Hz, 6 to a, day dreaming to quiet alert range) and
as perturbed by multifrequency driving in what was once called “reticular formation
arousal” are realized as dominant EEG modes and associated states of perceptual
acuity and consciousness (Moruzzi and Magoun 1949; Moruzzi, 1960; Klemm,
1990; Steriade and McCarley, 1990; Contreras et al, 1997). In addition to intrinsic
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