Photo via flickr by neurollero

Some scientists suggest that the fast, coherent EEG rhythm called “gamma” or “40 Hertz” is implicated in cognition, as it may play a role in binding together features of objects. It’s also suggested that this rhythm is important for consciousness.

In the book Fast Oscillations in Cortical Circuits, the authors Roger D. Traub, Miles Whittington and John Jefferys present suggestive evidence implicating the dysfunction of gamma rhythms in Alzheimer’s disease, and note the implications for memory and brain functions from switching from gamma to beta frequencies.

Physicist Danah Zohar, in a conversation with Sputnik Observatory, discussed the possible link of consciousness and 40 Hertz:

They think they have now found a neural basis of consciousness itself. It’s something called “40-Hz oscillation.” 40-Hz is forty cycles per second, and it makes a sound about two octaves below middle C, so it’s the sound of a rich bass playing, maybe Bach’s Cello Suites or something like that, if you could hear the brain buzzing away. They don’t know that this is where consciousness comes from, that’s almost a mystical question, “Does this mean that that’s where consciousness begins because the brain is waving?” But they do know whenever we are conscious these 40-Hz oscillations are happening.
—Danah Zohar, Physicist, sptnk 0:05:15:24

This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 8:19 am by obsrvtry and is filed under F is for Frequency. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.