Cortical Call Out: The Brain's Electric Field Creates a Feedback Loop That Synchronizes Neural Activity
The rhythmic electric fields generated by the brain during deep sleep and other periods of intensely coordinated neural activity could amplify and synchronize actions along the same neural networks that initially created those fields, according to a new study. The finding indicates that the brain's electric fields are not just passive by-products of neural activity--they might provide feedback that regulates how the brain functions, especially during deep, or slow-wave, sleep. Although similar ideas have been considered for decades, this is the first direct evidence that the electric fields generated by the cerebral cortex change the behavior of the neurons that engender them. [More] Neural network - Brain - Neuron - Artificial intelligence - Cerebral cortex