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Neuroscience
Synchronized Brain Activity and Superfluidity Are Symbiotic
Synchronization is the key to various brain regions working together in harmony.
Posted February 19, 2016
The brain is divided into various regions, neural networks, and functional circuits that must communicate with one another to create working harmony throughout the entire brain. But how do these neural circuits coordinate with one another so they can work as a unified team? A study released today from the SISSA Tactile Perception and Learning Lab reports that the secret to harmonizing brain activity lies in the synchronization of oscillating rhythms of electrical activity.
According to the researchers, it appears that various regions of the brain coordinate their brain rhythms so they can "dance" to the beat of their own drum sometimes—but when necessary, they work together by dancing in unison to well-timed choreography. Conversely, previous studies on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have identified that a lack of brain synchronization is a hallmark of maladaptive or atypical brain functions.
In a press release, the SISSA researchers said, “when a rat is engaged in a sensory recognition task and needs to make a spatial choice based on previous knowledge, the sensory, motor, and memory regions of the animal's brain (but similar mechanisms are also likely to exist in the human brain), make the rhythms of electrical activity coherent with each other.”
The February 2016 study, “Coherence Between Rat Sensorimotor System and Hippocampus Is Enhanced During Tactile Discrimination,” was published in the journal PLOS Biology. The study's co-first authors are Natalia Grion and Athena Akrami, research scientists at the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA) of Trieste, Italy. The study leader is Mathew Diamond, professor of cognitive neuroscience and deputy director of SISSA.
This new study from SISSA shows that when rats engage in a task requiring them to make decisions based on memories held in the hippocampus that their sensory and memory regions synchronize on a "theta rhythm" wavelength.
The brain's electrical activity is characterized by various brain waves or "rhythmic fluctuations" of electrical activity within various frequencies on an Electroencephalography (EEG). The term "theta rhythm" can be used to refer to two different phenomena: "hippocampal theta" and "human cortical theta," which are both oscillatory EEG patterns.
During their recent experiment, the SISSA researchers identified synchronization of theta brain waves between 5 and 12 Hz cycles per second in the rat hippocampus—a structure that is engaged in memory processing for humans and rodents—and in other sensory brain regions.
"What Is the Function of the Theta Rhythm?"
In rats, the brainwave of 5–12 Hz cycles per second is associated with a rat behavior known as "whisking". Rats explore their environments through the touch of their whiskers, a sense that is akin to vision for humans. Whilst whisking, the rats' theta rhythms were found to oscillate in the hippocampus and simultaneously with diverse areas throughout the cerebral cortex on the same wavelength.
For a long time, the million-dollar question has been: "What is the function of the theta rhythm?" Interestingly, some human studies suggest that theta brain waves hover between the conscious and the subconscious realms of the human mind. By consciously creating theta waves through mindfulness, meditation, or biofeedback there is speculation that you might be able to access subconscious parts of the brain that are normally inaccessible to your conscious mind.
Over a decade ago, when I wrote The Athlete’s Way, I spoke extensively about the importance of synchronized electrical brain activity coordinating the functional connectivity between various brain regions. I have a hypothesis that synchronized brain activity between both hemispheres of the cerebrum and both hemispheres of the cerebellum is the key to optimizing brain function and creating a state of superfluidity, which I describe as the highest form of flow.
Synchronizing the Brain Waves of Various Brain Regions Creates Brain Harmony
In many ways, the new cutting-edge research from SISSA reaffirms my educated guess about brain synchronization and optimizing brain connectivity from a decade ago. On p. 114 of The Athlete’s Way, in a section about brain electricity and "mode locking," which happens when neurons from various brain regions are marching in lockstep, I wrote:
“Different brain waves exist as a way of focusing and shifting states of consciousness. Each mood and thought has a specific frequency that connects a neural network. Brain waves reflect the firing rate of your neurons. Higher firing rates denote a very active, busy brain; lower rates a calmer brain.
Neurons time themselves to a specific frequency of firing, and there is power in numbers. Every brain cell is vying for your attention. Your state of mind is democratic. The number of neurons that get together or the louder the signal is what gets your attention. You have free will and ultimately you can decide in almost every situation what you want to think about, then turn up the volume of that neural ensemble.
The principle of biofeedback is to watch the firing rates and learn how to slow them down through trial and error. When you learn to slow or speed up the firing rate of neurons to create a specific state of consciousness, they change the frequency to a different channel, a lower gear.
Like any feedback loop, you can focus on slowing the firing rate down and feel the shift in consciousness, or you can change the state of your body by deep breathing to change the firing rate. Remember that GABA is going to be the tranquilizing molecule, slowing the firing rate of synapses like throwing water on a fire.”
I was excited to wake up this morning and read new evidence based on the latest neuroscience technologies which seems to confirm that the exchange of information between two brain regions is best facilitated when their respective oscillations are on the same wavelength and coherent.
The researchers at SISSA were able to test their theory on theta oscillation in the hippocampus by pinpointing when synchronized theta rhythms associated with the moving of a rat's whiskers while the rat was simultaneously using its whisker movements to sense its whereabouts in a physical environment.
The SISSA researchers also identified that the neuronal firing in the sensory cortex became more phase-locked to the hippocampal theta oscillations. Rats were able to identify the textures in the environment more rapidly while minimizing the likelihood of making errors because the rhythm of sensing and the rhythm of remembering from two different brain regions were perfectly synchronized.
This type of synchronization is what I would call the equivalent of superfluidity in which there is zero friction, viscosity, or entropy between brain regions responsible for cerebral thinking and cerebellar movements.
Conclusion: Synchronized Brain Activity and Superfluidity Are Symbiotic
The new landmark experiment by Mathew Diamond and his colleagues at SISSA has identified a connection between the oscillating theta rhythms of the sensory cortex (which collects tactile information), an intermediate processing station between the vibrissae, and the hippocampus.
The researchers conclude, "These results suggest that, as rats collect touch signals, enhanced coherence between the whisking rhythm, sensory cortex, and hippocampal LFP facilitates the integration of sensory information into memory and decision-making centers in the brain."
These findings augment my continuing research into ways humans can optimize their brain structure and functional connectivity on electrical, chemical, and architectural levels throughout the lifespan to create peak performance through superfluidity.
Based on previous research, the new findings from SISSA suggest that as the "conductor" of the various electrical rhythms of the marching band in your brain, it's possible that you can consciously kickstart a synchronized rhythm in one region of your cerebral cortex that will recruit other brain regions to join in on the same wavelength . . . Or, you can use other brain regions, such as the hippocampus (or possibly the cerebellum) to kickstart the rhythm of your entire brain from downstream.
Once your various brain regions are synchronized and marching in unison to the same rhythm, it appears that brain function is optimized and the brain is working as a frictionless unit, which increases the odds of creating flow, or superfluidity.
This is exciting stuff! Stay tuned for more research on how various brain waves and oscillations synchronize the functional connectivity of various brain regions.
To read more on this topic, check out my previous Psychology Today blog posts,
- "Superfluidity: The Psychology of Peak Performance"
- "Alpha Brain Waves Boost Creativity and Reduce Depression"
- "Is Outwitting Your Cerebellum the Secret to Overcoming Fear?"
- "Superfluidity: Decoding the Enigma of Cognitive Flexibility"
- "The Neuroscience of Superfluidity"
- "'Superfluidity" and the "Hot Hand" Are Synonymous"
- "Superfluidity: Peak Performance Beyond a State of 'Flow'"
© 2016 Christopher Bergland. All rights reserved.
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