On Attention as the Management of Electromagnetic Field Lines

Now try to focus on the very center of your field of vision. Notice how a seemingly simple task reveals the instability of the system: wavering, driftingand change in a unique way. These effects are not random noise; They suggest a potential physical mechanism that could shape how attention behaves more broadly.

I’ve been developing a model QRI Conceptualizing attention through electromagnetic field dynamics. To visualize this, I created a simulation showing how electric field lines emerge from a weighted combination of resonant modes in a square plate. In this video, I manipulate the relative weight, temporal frequency, and phase of these resonant modes:

The story of harmonics in the brain is getting more and more interesting. built on Lehar’s early insightsAtasoy’s work connectome-specific harmonics (2016), Johnson’s Exploring the impact (2018), Lupi’s Comparing narcotics and psychedelics (2022) and so on, we have now seen striking confirmation of these ideas Joana Cabral’s recent monolithic rodent recording work. Evidence continues to show that harmonic resonance is a fundamental organizing principle of neural activity. So let’s take this seriously and see what it tells us about the weird things about attention.

Think of the “controlling parameters” of attention as the precise timing, weighting, and phase relationships between different electrical resonance modes. We appear to have some degree of volitional control over these parameters, although this control is indirect in nature.

source: Human brain networks function in connectome-specific harmonics (2016) Seren Atasoy, Isaac Donnelly and Joel Pearson

The resulting electric field lines may correspond to the “flow of attention” we experience. This explains why we can’t directly direct our attention to go anywhere. Instead, we can only regulate the underlying oscillatory conditions to maintain charge density in a specific region. To actually keep the charge density in a specific shape requires finding the right combination of harmonic patterns and the right rhythm to keep them active.

This framework may provide a new map of our psychedelic phenomenology. Classic hallucinogens such as LSD and psilocybin appear to disrupt normal resonant mode configurations by activating higher frequency harmonics and reducing the power of lower frequency harmonics. Ever notice how the psychedelic experience is noticeably “sprinkled”? This occurs when high-frequency harmonics create chaotic fluctuations in attention field lines Focused attention rather than a single central stream. Without a “foundation”, DMT can cause rapid changes between field line configurations. In contrast, 5-MeO-DMT activates “global mode” may lead to intense single focus. Look at the simulations when disturbed: these patterns show deep qualitative similarities to attentional behavior in these states.

The implications of the experiment are indeed tantalizing to me: we should expect to see coordinated changes in electromagnetic field patterns that correspond in a predictable way to shifts in attention. These patterns should exhibit characteristic resonant patterns that remain stable during focused attention and are disrupted by distraction or state changes. The combination of modern magnetoencephalography and high-density electroencephalography devices can test these predictions.

Explicitly modeling attentional field lines might even point us towards better online interventions: we can do this by identifying the way attention is phase-locked and figuring out how to disrupt it (ideally in a way that’s enjoyable). way! ) to construct a system for non-invasively inducing strange states of consciousness. As we all know, it is very difficult to jump directly to samadhi by focusing on one point. But what if we could first simulate a quasi-coherent combination of resonant modes, phase-locked to the current attentional mode, and then gently push it toward high concentrations?

In this view, attention does not become a “spotlight.” Or at least, that’s not what it is (although it can sometimes behave like a spotlight, but that’s just one of many modes). Instead, attention will be a dynamic pattern of convergent field lines in the brain’s electromagnetic field, shaped by a complex system of controls that regulate underlying resonant patterns. Watch the simulation again: can you see how small parameter changes create discernible patterns in the field lines? These patterns may map directly onto familiar shifts in attention. The way lines flow, break, and reorganize under changing parameters can explain the controllable and uncontrollable aspects of attention we experience. Perhaps we will invent words to name them; therefore, learn to eliminate the ineffable.

This is a work in progress but I thought I would share 🙂

Video description: A quick share of an ongoing QRI research topic: Can we use field lines generated by weighted sums of electrical harmonics to reproduce attentional behavior? At least intuitively, this seems promising! I also show an ongoing electromagnetic simulation that visualizes the electric and magnetic field lines resulting from the interaction between the weighted sum of harmonic oscillations in the electric field.

See: