SOHMs & Resonance
Self‑organizing harmonic modes (SOHMs) are synchronous patterns that can carry information as resonant modes.
Building on previous concepts
These resonant modes are what taṇhā grabs onto. They're the actual patterns that Active Inference tries to predict and control.
Concepts you've learned so far:
Felt experience
What does this concept feel like in the body and behavior? Read, notice, then try.
SOHMs aren't just abstract mathematical structures—they have a felt quality. When multiple brain regions synchronize into a harmonic mode, this creates a distinct experiential signature. You might notice this as the 'coming together' feeling when understanding a complex idea or the coherent quality of focused attention.
These resonant modes extend beyond the brain into the entire body. Emotional states, for instance, involve characteristic patterns of neural-somatic resonance. The feeling of 'being in flow' reflects a particularly coherent and stable harmonic mode across multiple systems.
Mechanism
What the animation teaches: The subtle drift of mode B shows these aren't static patterns but dynamic resonances. Real harmonic modes in the brain constantly shift and interact.
Vasocomputation proposes that vascular smooth muscle contractions can selectively pressure different resonant modes, effectively 'tuning' the brain's harmonic landscape. This provides a mechanism for how predictions and attention can bias which patterns of activity emerge and stabilize.