kaleidoscopik

Thom Yorke remixed a classical piece for a release called ‘Cortical Songs’. The title is intriguing and apparently refers to an orchestra partially controlled by a ‘tiny computer brain’. You can sample the result at imeem, courtesy of pitchfork media. Also, check out the record label’s myspace. They are called nonclassical music and they are repeat offenders in the classical remix department. I might pick up a few things from these guys.

Finally, here is an excerpt from the article, “Synfire Chains and Cortical Songs: Temporal Modules of Cortical Activity” by Ikegaya et al. 2004. Cortical songs seem to be motifs of neuronal activation patterns that can recur every few minutes or so.

the entire timespan in this picture is two minutes

Our data agree with the prediction that cortical activity flows through chains of synchronized neurons (synfire chains), which are reactivated with high temporal precision. Moreover, we describe a higher order grammar (18), by which these chains themselves can be modules of larger temporal structures (cortical songs), defined by their sequential order of activation, and which can last for minutes. These songs resemble spiking correlates of sequential behavior, like bird songs (19, 20) or spatial navigation (21), and have compressing dynamics, as if the circuit was replaying and modifying previously learned sequences (21–23). The mechanisms that generate and propagate synfire chains and cortical songs must be intrinsic to the cortical circuit, because they are preserved in slices, and might reflect the faithful reactivation of specific circuits (24), mediated by stereotypical synaptic dynamics (25, 26 ) and driven by pacemaker cells (8, 27). Because the activity drifts with time, it is also possible that short-lived patterns, perhaps reflecting ongoing circuit memory, are generated de novo (6, 28).