Brain Flows: How Network Dynamics Compose the Human Mind

A pioneering theory of how brain network flows compose the neural symphonies that make us who we areWhat enables us not only to comprehend the world but also to find meaning in it?How does a brain engender a mind? In Brain Flows, cognitive neuroscientist Michael Cole argues that movements (flows) of activity through brain networks create an improvised electrochemical symphony that generates our thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and actions.Drawing on his decades of brain research, Cole traces the brain’s complex network organization, which transforms brain flows into representations, goal pursuits, and entire minds.Central to this transformation, he explains, is compositionality, which allows neural representations to be reused and recombined to produce a brain state rich enough not only to perceive the constant novelty of the world but also to help generate it. Cole describes the work of brain flows layer by layer, from simple network interactions to hallmarks of the human mind: consci