FRACTALS IN PUPILLARY OSCILLATION PATTERNS: FROM GRAY IMAGES TO JACKSON POLLOCK PAINTINGS

Abstract

Previous research has discovered fractal patterns in many natural structures and physiological processes such as mountains, trees, clouds, coast lines, heart rate variability, lung structure, and even the structure of the brain itself (Goldberger, Amaral, Hausdorff, Ivanov, Peng, & Stanley, 2002; Kiselev, Hahn, & Auer, 2003; Mandelbrot, 1982). Fractals are structures which are self-similar at varying magnification and can be either statistical (meaning they are not identical when magnification varies but are self-similar by some statistical measure) or mathematical (the structure remains identical as magnification varies) (Fairbanks & Taylor, 2011). The fractal nature of these structures and processes is important due to the efficiency gained by a fractal system compared to a random system as each step in magnification is similar to the previous. We present evidence from two studies suggesting that the pupil oscillates in a fractal pattern regardless of stimulus. We suggest that this effect is physiological in nature and is not an artifact of scanning patterns. Properties of images may augment the fractal properties of the oscillation pattern but only to a certain degree.