MIT researchers Earl K. Miller, Scott L. Brincat and Jefferson E. Roy propose in a review published in The Journal of Neuroscience that traveling waves of neural activity coordinate brain networks through analog computations. Their theory argues that fixed circuit connections store representations but cannot by themselves explain rapid, flexible responses; synchronized waves may help organize many neurons at once. Unlike sequential digital computation, interacting waves could support parallel processing.
According to the team, slower alpha and beta waves linked to memories and goals regulate faster gamma waves associated with incoming sensory information. They propose that alpha/beta control waves emerge from coordinated neural firing and can affect where and when gamma activity occurs, shaping which groups of neurons participate. The review also discusses evidence that electric fields may rapidly influence neural firing. Miller says direct evidence that the proposed analog computations occur is still needed.
For consciousness, the review proposes that coordinated wave patterns integrate activity across the cortex. MIT cites anesthesia studies in which three drugs with different molecular mechanisms similarly disrupted brain-wave organization and produced unconsciousness. The authors suggest possible clinical applications while presenting the broader mechanism as a theory to be tested.