Perception's shadow: long-distance synchronization of human brain activity

Eugenio Rodriguez, Nathalie George, Jean-Philippe Lachaux, Jacques Martinerie, Bernard Renault and Francisco J. Varela ()
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Eugenio Rodriguez: Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Imagerie Cérbréale (LENA)
Nathalie George: Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Imagerie Cérbréale (LENA)
Jean-Philippe Lachaux: Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Imagerie Cérbréale (LENA)
Jacques Martinerie: Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Imagerie Cérbréale (LENA)
Bernard Renault: Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Imagerie Cérbréale (LENA)
Francisco J. Varela: Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Imagerie Cérbréale (LENA)

Nature, 1999, vol. 397, issue 6718, 430-433

Abstract: Abstract Transient periods of synchronization of oscillating neuronal discharges in the frequency range 30–80 Hz (gamma oscillations) have been proposed to act as an integrative mechanism that may bring a widely distributed set of neurons together into a coherent ensemble that underlies a cognitive act1,2,3,4. Results of several experiments in animals provide support for this idea (see, for example, refs 4,5,6,7,8,9,10). In humans, gamma oscillations have been described both on the scalp11,12,13,14,15,16 (measured by electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography) and in intracortical recordings17, but no direct participation of synchrony in a cognitive task has been demonstrated so far. Here we record electrical brain activity from subjects who are viewing ambiguous visual stimuli (perceived either as faces or as meaningless shapes). We show for the first time, to our knowledge, that only face perception induces a long-distance pattern of synchronization, corresponding to the moment of perception itself and to the ensuing motor response. A period of strong desynchronization marks the transition between the moment of perception and the motor response. We suggest that this desynchronization reflects a process of active uncoupling of the underlying neural ensembles that is necessary to proceed from one cognitive state to another3.

Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1038/17120

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