How does our brain process sensory impressions into inner images?
Die Antwort liegt in der neuronalen Synchronisation.
Neural synchronization is the key to solving the “binding problem” – meaning different sensory inputs can be integrated into a coherent percept. This process essentially requires the following steps:
- Integration of different information through synchronised impulse emission of the neurons
- and the associated formation of neuronal groups (ensembles)
Does our brain create a uniform image through synchronisation and oscillation?
The synchronised emission of impulses causes an oscillation (vibration). In 2015, Fries showed that the oscillations caused by neuronal synchronisation are fundamental to brain communication.
- It modulates the effective connectivity between neuron groups and
- controls the transmission of information in the brain
Is the organisation of our visual perception based on vibrations?
Bastos and fellow researchers also revealed in 2015 that different frequencies play different roles in the visual cortex:
- They contribute to the integration of information and
- they organise information processing in different regions of the brain
Is this also how our brain communicates globally?
Yes, exactly. In 2011, researcher Hipp and colleagues demonstrated that synchronised oscillations connect large-scale brain networks:
- There are specific frequency bands (e.g. alpha, beta, theta frequency bands) for different connections in the brain,
- and this enables the integration of information across brain regions.
What implications does this have for Art, AI and Imagination?
Understanding neuronal synchronisation opens up new perspectives:
- For artists: Insights into the development of creative visions
- For AI developers: inspiration for new approaches in artificial perception
- For researchers: the basis for understanding the human imagination
In our model, we now compare neuronal and social synchronisation by looking at three levels of synchronisation:
How is an image created in the brain?
Level 1: Synchronisation of neuron groups
Level 2: Synchronisation of cortical columns
Level 3: Synchronisation of brain regions
How is a collective image created in a resonant space?
Level 1: Synchronisation of groups of persons
Level 2: Synchronisation in e.g. companies
Level 3: Synchronisation of e.g. countries
Referenzen
Fries, P. (2015). Rhythms for cognition: Communication through coherence. Neuron, 88(1), 220-235.
Bastos, A. M., Vezoli, J., Bosman, C. A., Schoffelen, J. M., Oostenveld, R., Dowdall, J. R., … & Fries, P. (2015). Visual areas exert feedforward and feedback influences through distinct frequency channels. Neuron, 85(2), 390-401.
Hipp, J. F., Engel, A. K., & Siegel, M. (2011). Oscillatory synchronization in large-scale cortical networks predicts perception. Neuron, 69(2), 387-396.