Experts Are Making Waves in Neuroscience

And another theory transforming what we know about how the brain functions

Hiya!

At first, I thought maybe I was reaching a tad too far when I wondered if physics plays a role within humanity — and in this regard, perhaps I have. Though, the more I researched, the more it seems there is a connection between physics and consciousness, or at the very least, the way our brain functions.

Advancements within neuroscience also suggest some intriguing possibilities about how the brain works. One revelation, in particular, could turn everything we thought we knew about the way the brain operates on its head. So get ready for your mind to be blown! (Okay okay, I’ll stop with the puns.)

A New Similarity Between the Brain and Physics

Okay, let me see if I can explain this because o-m-g, it’s so cool!

Most of us with basic knowledge about how the brain works were taught that the brain is like a computer. It processes information via brain cells, or neurons, that zip information from one neuron to another along circuits connecting various regions. While accurate, there are certain things this model can’t explain.

The biggest issue is our subjectivity. How, or why, do our reactions to the same stimuli change in different conditions? When you’re alert, your cells will register when a light flashes, but those same cells might ignore the flash if you’re focused on something. If our neurons work like a computer, registering senses at all times, then your cells should always register the flash.

Yet, it’s clear that this neural relay exists, meaning we’ve been missing something. Well, in a new study, the director of Collaboratory for Adaptive Sensory Technologies and professor at Salk, Thomas Albright, and Staff Scientist Sergei Gepshtein may have figured out the missing piece.

They suggest that our brain analyzes sensory information through the interactions of waves, in addition to our neurons passing information along a pathway — similar to the way light and matter are particles and waves. We’ve known there are waves of electrical activity in our brain but they weren’t thought to be how the brain processes information.

In an article by Medical Press Gepshtein explains:

"The traditional view of brain function describes brain activity as an interaction of neurons. Since every neuron is confined to a specific location, this view is akin to the description of light as a particle. We've found that in some situations, brain activity is better described as interaction of waves, which is similar to the description of light as a wave. Both views are needed for understanding the brain."

and

"The model helps explain how the brain's underlying state can change, affecting people's attention, focus, or ability to process information." 

According to the study, a flash of light doesn’t activate specialized sensory cells, it creates small ocean-like waves across cells “with alternating peaks and troughs of activation.”

Of course, these waves are bound to collide since they aren’t stagnant in one location the way neurons are — known as “wave interference”. When the peaks crash against each other, it combines to create higher activity, whereas when two low points cancel each other out upon contact.

So this means that our senses might exist as waves that meet and collide with other sensory information. As Albright says,

"When you're out in the world, there are many, many inputs and so all these different waves are generated. The net response of the brain to the world around you has to do with how all these waves interact."