foreword by Hermann Haken For the past twenty years Scott Kelso's research has focused on extending the physical concepts of self- organization and the mathematical tools of nonlinear dynamics to understand how human beings (and human brains) perceive, intend, learn, control, and coordinate complex behaviors. In this book Kelso proposes a new, general framework within which to connect brain, mind, and behavior.Kelso's prescription for mental life breaks dramatically with the classical computational approach that is still the operative framework for many newer psychological and neurophysiological studies. His core thesis is that the creation and evolution of patterned behavior at all levels--from neurons to mind--is governed by the generic processes of self-organization. Both human brain and behavior are shown to exhibit features of pattern-forming dynamical systems, including multistability, abrupt phase transitions, crises, and intermittency. Dynamic Patterns brings together different aspects of this approach to the study of human behavior, using simple experimental examples and illustrations to convey essential concepts, strategies, and methods, with a minimum of mathematics. Kelso begins with a general account of dynamic pattern formation. He then takes up behavior, focusing initially on identifying pattern-forming instabilities in human sensorimotor coordination. Moving back and forth between theory and experiment, he establishes the notion that the same pattern-forming mechanisms apply regardless of the component parts involved (parts of the body, parts of the nervous system, parts of society) and the medium through which the parts are coupled. Finally, employing the latest techniques to observe spatiotemporal patterns of brain activity, Kelso shows that the human brain is fundamentally a pattern forming dynamical system, poised on the brink of instability. Self-organization thus underlies the cooperative action of neurons that produces human behavior in all its forms.

An account of how complex patterns form in sustained nonequilibrium systems; for graduate students in biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and physics.

Spirals, vortices, crystalline lattices, and other attractive patterns are prevalent in Nature. How do such beautiful patterns appear from the initial chaos? What universal dynamical rules are responsible for their formation? What is the dynamical origin of spatial disorder in nonequilibrium media? Based on the many visual experiments in physics, hydrodynamics, chemistry, and biology, this invaluable book answers those and related intriguing questions. The mathematical models presented for the dynamical theory of pattern formation are nonlinear partial differential equations. The corresponding theory is not so accessible to a wide audience. Consequently, the authors have made every attempt to synthesize long and complex mathematical calculations to exhibit the underlying physics. The book will be useful for final year undergraduates, but is primarily aimed at graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and others interested in the puzzling phenomena of pattern formation.

"This beautifully illustrated book brings together a remarkable array of pattern-forming phenomena The authors have assembled an impressive collection of striking photographs and computer-generated images, and the book would be worth buying for this alone the Appendix describing key experiments is a highlight. Here the authors outline the historical development of experiments in parametrically-excited patterns, thermal convection and diffusive chemical reactions." UK Nonlinear News, 2002

Many exciting frontiers of science and engineering require understanding the spatiotemporal properties of sustained nonequilibrium systems such as fluids, plasmas, reacting and diffusing chemicals, crystals solidifying from a melt, heart muscle, and networks of excitable neurons in brains. This introductory textbook for graduate students in biology, chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and physics provides a systematic account of the basic science common to these diverse areas. This book provides a careful pedagogical motivation of key concepts, discusses why diverse nonequilibrium systems often show similar patterns and dynamics, and gives a balanced discussion of the role of experiments, simulation, and analytics. It contains numerous worked examples and over 150 exercises. This book will also interest scientists who want to learn about the experiments, simulations, and theory that explain how complex patterns form in sustained nonequilibrium systems.

Patterns are becoming the focal point of many areas of scientific endeavour in recent years owing to the progress of computer science, laboratory experiments and observations, and analytical tools. This book brings together articles by the leading experts in this field. The following topics are discussed in this volume: current status of pattern research with emphasis on real phenomena and new theoretical concepts; interdisciplinary subjects involving Statistical Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Fluid Mechanics, Nonequilibrium and Nonlinear Phenomena.

This Research Note aims to provide an insight into recent developments in the theory of pattern formation. In the last decade there has been considerable progress in this field, both from a theoretical and a practical point of view. Recent mathematical developments concern the study of the nonlinear stability of systems at near-critical conditions by an appropriate system of modulation equations. The complexity of the original problem can be reduced drastically by this approximation. Moreover, it provides unifying point of view for a wide range of problems. New applications of the theory arise in a multitude of scientific areas such as hydrodynamics, reaction-diffusion problems, oceanography, meteorology, combustion, geophysical and biological morphodynamics and semi-conductors.This book is intended to show the interactions between the mathematical theory of nonlinear dynamics and the study of pattern generating phenomena in the natural environment. There is an intimate relationship between new insights in the mathematical aspects of nonlinear pattern formation and the comprehension of such phenomena. Therefore there are two partly overlapping main themes: one in which the emphasis is on generally applicable mathematical theories and techniques and one in which the phenomenology of pattern evolution in various areas is discussed.The book comprises 19 contributions by experts in the field. Although the emphasis changes considerably from paper to paper, in each contribution the same two themes are present; all the authors have aimed to achieve a suitable balance between the mathematical theory and the physical phenomena.