Activate list?

[John Shaw <crosley@TCP.CO.UK>]

     3/Mar/99 I agree, it's time we got this list moving.
     Perhaps the following may start some discussion.

     A current major interest in neuroscience is the role of
     gamma rhythms in the phenomenon called binding - the
     integration of distributed neuronal activity in the
     brain that results in a percept or concept. Gamma
     activity is studied in humans by scalp recorded
     electroencephalography (EEG)  and intra-cerebrally in
     animals (Singer, 1999). Gamma rhythms have a frequency
     in the range 35-70 Hz but are commonly seen around 40
     Hz. Its functional significance have been extensively
     studied in recent years and much progress has been made.

     By contrast, the most prominent component of the EEG in
     healthy awake adults is the alpha rhythm (frequency range
     8-13 Hz). The functional significance of alpha rhythm
     has been studied ever since its discovery by Berger in
     1924 (Shaw, 1996; Basar et al, 1997), but is still
     something of a mystery.

     There is therefore an enigma. Why have the studies of
     gamma activity not advanced our understanding of alpha
     rhythm? Intra-cerebral studies of gamma activity seldom
     report observations about alpha rhythm.

     One way of examining this problem would be to use
     bispectrum analysis of EEGs to look for relations
     between alpha and gamma activity. I can find no
     up-to-date reference to such studies. Do any members of
     this group know of any work of this nature or have the
     facilities to undertake it?

     Refs:
     Basar, E., Hari, H., Lopes da Silva, F. H. and Schurman,
     M. (1997) (Eds.) Brain alpha activity - New aspects and
     functional correlates. International Journal of
     Psychophysiology, 26(1-3): 1-482.

     Shaw, J. C. (1996) Intention as a component of the
     alpha-rhythm response to mental activity. International
     Journal of Psychophysiology, 24: 7-23.

     Singer, W. (1999) Striving for coherence. Nature,
     397:391-393

-------------------------------------
Name: John C Shaw
E-mail: crosley@tcp.co.uk
Date: 03/03/99
Time: 05:59:57

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