Human perception relies on a complicated network of recurrent circuits acting in unison to create
a sensory gestalt of our immediate environment in working memory. The multi-modal convergence
of sight, sound, smell, and touch relies on strong signal coupling between multiple sensory circuits,
and the stability of this coupling relies on precise signal output timing from all circuits. If specific
circuits become overly excited or overly inhibited, a divergence in circuit synchrony can create
circuit instability that propagates throughout the entire network as a frame-translation error.
A good example of a simple frame-translation error can be found when analyzing the structure of
phosphenes, the closed-eye geometric patterns seen when the optic nerve is excited. These swirling
mandalas of the mind have been reproduced for thousands of years in spiritual artwork, but we
now know that such patterns may be the direct result of instability in signal coupling between the
spatially oriented neural structures in the retina and the visual cortex (see illustration to the left).
If this instability is caused by excitation and lag in the feedback circuit connecting the LGN with
the visual cortex, one would expect to see phantom frame data drifting across the visual field
whenever the eyes were closed, creating the perception of spinning, luminescent mandalas.
