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Perception's shadow: long-distance synchronization of human brain activity
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 act. Results of several experiments in animals provide support for this idea. In humans, gamma oscillations have been described both on the scalp (measured by electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography) and in intracortical recordings, 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 another.
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From Beyond Combination: How Cosmic Consciousness Grounds Ordinary Experience (2018) · cites this paper as Rodriguez et al. 1999
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Delorme, A., & Makeig, S. (2004) · Journal of Neuroscience Methods · doi:10.1016/j.jneumeth.2003.10.009 · Cited by 24,371
The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity
Cowan, N. (2001) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x01003922 · Cited by 6,779
The brainweb: phase synchronization and large-scale integration
Varela, F., Lachaux, J.-P., Rodriguez, E., & Martinerie, J. (2001) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/35067550 · Cited by 4,761
Self-citationDynamic predictions: Oscillations and synchrony in top–down processing
Engel, A. K., Fries, P., & Singer, W. (2001) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/35094565 · Cited by 3,454
A sensorimotor account of vision and visual consciousness
O'Regan, J. K., & Noë, A. (2001) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x01000115 · Cited by 3,126
Metadata
- Authors
- Rodriguez, E., George, N., Lachaux, J.-P., Martinerie, J., Renault, B., & Varela, F. J.
- Affiliations
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Corresponding author
- Varela, Francisco J.
- Venue
- Nature
- Published
- 1999-02
- Volume
- 397
- Issue
- 6718
- Pages
- 430-433
- ISSN
- 0028-0836 (ISSN-L)
- 1476-4687
- OpenAlex
- W1500295349
- Cited by
- 1,915
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 24 · 2025: 41 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 56 · 2021: 48 · 2020: 51 · 2019: 47 · 2018: 49 · 2017: 65 · 2016: 58 · 2015: 76 · 2014: 89 · 2013: 71 · 2012: 84
- FWCI
- 35.89
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Nature (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (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 › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
- Keywords
- gamma oscillations, face perception, ambiguous visual stimuli, desynchronization, neuronal ensembles, cognitive transitions, motor response, neural oscillations
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Cognition, Cortical Synchronization, Electroencephalography, Face, Female, Humans, Male, Reaction Time, Visual Perception
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