The brain timewise: how timing shapes and supports brain function
Open accessAbstract
We discuss the importance of timing in brain function: how temporal dynamics of the world has left its traces in the brain during evolution and how we can monitor the dynamics of the human brain with non-invasive measurements. Accurate timing is important for the interplay of neurons, neuronal circuitries, brain areas and human individuals. In the human brain, multiple temporal integration windows are hierarchically organized, with temporal scales ranging from microseconds to tens and hundreds of milliseconds for perceptual, motor and cognitive functions, and up to minutes, hours and even months for hormonal and mood changes. Accurate timing is impaired in several brain diseases. From the current repertoire of non-invasive brain imaging methods, only magnetoencephalography (MEG) and scalp electroencephalography (EEG) provide millisecond time-resolution; our focus in this paper is on MEG. Since the introduction of high-density whole-scalp MEG/EEG coverage in the 1990s, the instrumentation has not changed drastically; yet, novel data analyses are advancing the field rapidly by shifting the focus from the mere pinpointing of activity hotspots to seeking stimulus- or task-specific information and to characterizing functional networks. During the next decades, we can expect increased spatial resolution and accuracy of the time-resolved brain imaging and better understanding of brain function, especially its temporal constraints, with the development of novel instrumentation and finer-grained, physiologically inspired generative models of local and network activity. Merging both spatial and temporal information with increasing accuracy and carrying out recordings in naturalistic conditions, including social interaction, will bring much new information about human brain function.
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Proper Bayesian inference in complex state spaces would require extensive computation time, creating a fundamental temporal mismatch with the brain's millisecond responses.
“The brain must respond to environmental challenges within milliseconds, while proper Bayesian inference in complex state spaces would require extensive computation time, creating a fundamental temporal mismatch (Csicsvari et al. 1999; Hari and Parkkonen 2015).”
From The myth of the Bayesian brain (2025) · cites this paper as Hari and Parkkonen 2015
In “Perception, action and cognition” (page unavailable), the paper says millisecond timing is needed for some movements and perception, while noting that other sensory processing tolerates longer intervals. “Timewise insights into brain function” discusses making detailed models computationally tractable and mentions Bayesian inference, but does not say that Bayesian inference in complex state spaces takes too long for the brain’s millisecond responses or establishes a temporal mismatch. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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- Authors
- Hari, R., & Parkkonen, L.
- Affiliations
- Aalto University (FI)
- Corresponding author
- Hari, Riitta
- Venue
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2015-05-19
- Volume
- 370
- Issue
- 1668
- Pages
- 20140170
- ISSN
- 0962-8436 (ISSN-L)
- 1471-2970
- PMC
- PMC4387511
- OpenAlex
- W1980035298
- Cited by
- 98
- References
- 66
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 1.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Aaltodoc (Aalto University) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Music Perception
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Keywords
- neural timing, magnetoencephalography, EEG, millisecond time resolution, temporal integration window, functional brain networks, non-invasive brain imaging, social interaction, brain evolution
- MeSH terms
- Brain, Brain Mapping, Electroencephalography, Humans, Nerve Net, Time Factors, Magnetoencephalography
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