Super-Synergy in the Brain: The Grandmother Percept Is Manifested by Multiple Oscillations

Abstract

The present report describes the dynamic foundations of long-standing experimental work in the field of oscillatory dynamics in the human and animal brain. It aims to show the role of multiple oscillations in the integrative brain function, memory, and complex perception by a recently introduced conceptional framework: the super-synergy in the whole brain. Results of recent experiments related to the percept of the grandmother-face support our concept of super-synergy in the whole brain in order to explain manifestation of Gestalts and Memory-Stages. This report may also provide new research avenues in macrodynamics of the brain.

Natural world physical, brain operational, and mind phenomenal space–time

“…It has been supposed that it is the difference of myelination that plays a major role in creating isochronicity: Myelination is not just insulation of the neuron's axons as previously thought, but is a natural mechanism for regulating the timing of communication between neurons [140]. 24 For example, Pulvermuller [146] observed the possibility that regions of the cortex organized by such connections among neurons might directly connect different features of words. Indeed, a representation of the word "rose" requires a combination of visual image (most likely represented in the visual cortex), smell (olfactory cortex), soft texture (somatosensory cortex), etc.…”

“…Topographic-type of connections among neurons is extremely widespread in the cortex. They contribute to transmitting spatially ordered information and also to several types of complex mental operations 24 , including reasoning and analogy making [148].…”

“…These basic EEG bands are assumed to reflect different functional processes in the brain [22,[232][233][234]. EEG oscillations have been intensively studied over the past years [24,27,[235][236][237][238][239][240][241][242][243][244][245][246]. As a result of this research, it is suggested that the oscillatory activity of neuronal assemblies reflected in characteristic EEG rhythms constitutes a mechanism by which the brain can regulate changes of a state in selected neuronal networks to cause qualitative transitions between modes of information processing [247].…”

“…Indeed, neurons in different brain parts oscillate at different frequencies [8][9][10] forming transient neuronal assemblies 1 [11][12][13][14][15]. These neuronal assemblies are selectively coupled or "bound" together into a coherent network each time when a person attends, perceives, memorizes, imagines, thinks, plans, and acts [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. During this dynamic self-assembling 2 process different neuronal assemblies spatially located in distant parts of the brain engage and disengage in time, much like different musical pieces in a symphony [30], paralleling the emergence and vanishing of different perceptual features, objects, full scenes, and even abstract ideas in a conscious mind [31].…”

Neural and Cognitive Modeling with Networks of Leaky Integrator Units

“…We will refer to this finding, sometimes called desynchronization of the EEG, as the alpha blocking [5]. 4 Alpha waves are assumed to be related to awareness and cognitive processes [48,6,39,57]. Experimental findings suggest that thalamocortical feedback loops are involved in the origin of the alpha EEG [10,14,17,58,59,70].…”