Chaotic Information Processing in the Brain

Abstract

Let us call a machine involving simple stimulus-response rules a Cartesian automaton, and call a Cartesian automaton possessing a control system including feedback systems a Craik automaton [Johnson-Laird 1983]. By the studies of Karl von Frish, it turned out that a honey bee calculates the positions of flowers in relation to the position of the sun, and correctly sends such information to other bees. This seems to be a kind of sophisticated information processing, but its processing mechanism is essentially the same as that of a Craik automaton. The reason is as follows. Once the control system is set up, it performs correct calculations and outputs the results correctly, based on the present state and the purpose. In other words, the same result is output, provided the conditions are the same.