On the left is the bifurcation diagram corresponding to the phase portrait of olfactory bulb states. On the right is Langton's view of information movement in complex dynamical systems such as cellular automata. It represents the four states a complex system can obtain. The bottom is the regime where information is frozen; nothing can live there. Above that is a somewhat more flexible regime where behavior such as crystal growth can be seen; still, the limited movement of information cannot support life. At the very top, information moves so freely that its structure cannot be maintained; the regime is too chaotic to support life. Only in that center "sweet spot" can information be stable enough to support a message structure and loose enough to transmit messages. [1] The comparison between the two diagrams shows that the four state dynamics found in the olfactory bulb is not unique to that system but instead is part of a more general theory of complex dynamical systems and their information flow.

[1]	Steven Levy. Artificial Life: A report from the frontier where computer's meet biology. First Vintage Books Edition, 1993.