Transient phase-locking of 40 Hz electrical oscillations in prefrontal and parietal human cortex reflects the process of conscious somatic perception
Abstract
Electrical potential oscillations in the range of 35-45 Hz (gamma waves) have recently been shown to occur rather ubiquitously in the brain of awake humans. During selective somatic attention, we demonstrate a transient phase-locking of the gamma waves generated in the contralateral prefrontal and parietal cortical areas that we had previously shown to be involved in such selective attention tasks. In line with other microphysiological evidence obtained on mammalian visual cortex, this selective functional synchronization between critical human brain areas (as far as about 9 cm apart) is proposed to reflect the transient 'binding' of discrete cognitive features that are processed in distributed neuronal assemblies of the brain whereby the conscious perception of an object or event can be achieved. On this basis we emphasize that the conscious function of the brain is neither epiphenomenal nor delayed, but operates transiently to integrate relevant perceptual features at the time of target object identification and of conscious behavioural decision.
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“the formation of transiently stable attractors distinguishing themselves by a high degree of coherence is an essential prerequisite for conscious processes”
From Beyond Combination: How Cosmic Consciousness Grounds Ordinary Experience (2018) · cites this paper as Desmedt and Tomberg 1994
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- Authors
- Desmedt, J. E., & Tomberg, C.
- Corresponding author
- Desmedt, John E.
- ORCID
- Tomberg, Claude
- Venue
- Neuroscience Letters
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1994-02
- Volume
- 168
- Issue
- 1-2
- Pages
- 126-129
- ISSN
- 0304-3940 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2041018540
- Cited by
- 240
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 4.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Neuroscience Letters (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Dépôt institutionnel de l'Université libre de Bruxelles (Université Libre de Bruxelles) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Visual perception and processing mechanisms
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Keywords
- gamma oscillations, 40 Hz oscillations, phase locking, somatic attention, conscious perception, prefrontal cortex, parietal cortex, interhemispheric synchronization, feature binding, conscious decision-making
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Algorithms, Brain Mapping, Electroencephalography, Fourier Analysis, Humans, Functional Laterality, Oscillometry, Parietal Lobe, Perception, Visual Cortex, Prefrontal Cortex
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