Fig. 1: Schematics of the geometry of neural dynamics on the attractor landscape.

A state space is defined where each dimension represents the activity of a brain region spanning the cortex. The hills and valleys represent the attractor landscape with valleys indicating the attractors. Each attractor corresponds to a recurring brain state that is identified from large-scale patterns of regional activity and interaction. The circles represent the neural activity at a specific moment. The trajectory of neural activity (indicated with black arrow) is largely determined by the landscape but can also be affected by external perturbations. For example, the red circle is more likely to fall toward the attractor based on the intrinsic landscape but may move away from the attractor when perturbed by external forces, such as stimuli, task demands, or behavior. The speed and direction of the movement on this landscape defines the geometry of neural dynamics. Example brain state figures are adapted from Song et al.²⁴.