Nonlinear Dynamics in Human Behavior

Humans engage in a seemingly endless variety of different behaviors, of which some are found across species, while others are conceived of as typically human. Most generally, behavior comes about through the interplay of various constraints - informational, mechanical, neural, metabolic, and so on - operating at multiple scales in space and time. Over the years, consensus has grown in the research community that, rather than investigating behavior only from bottom up, it may be also well understood in terms of concepts and laws on the phenomenological level. Such top down approach is rooted in theories of synergetics and self-organization using tools from nonlinear dynamics. The present compendium brings together scientists from all over the world that have contributed to the development of their respective fields departing from this background. It provides an introduction to deterministic as well as stochastic dynamical systems and contains applications to motor control and coordination, visual perception and illusion, as well as auditory perception in the context of speech and music.

Presents applications of complex systems to human bahavior, coordination and cognition

Dynamical Systems in One and Two Dimensions: A Geometrical Approach.- Benefits and Pitfalls in Analyzing Noise in Dynamical Systems - On Stochastic Differential Equations and System Identification.- The Dynamical Organization of Limb Movements.- Perspectives on the Dynamic nature of Coupling in Human Coordination.- Do we need Internal Models for Movement Control?.- Nonlinear Dynamics in Speech Perception.- A Neural Basis for Perceptual Dynamics.- Optical Illusions: Examples for Nonlinear Dynamics in Perception.- A Dynamical Systems Approach to Musical Tonality.