The brainweb: phase synchronization and large-scale integration.
The emergence of a unified cognitive moment relies on the coordination of scattered mosaics of functionally specialized brain regions. Here we review the mechanisms of large-scale integration that counterbalance the distributed anatomical and functional organization of brain activity to enable the emergence of coherent behaviour and cognition. Although the mechanisms involved in large-scale integration are still largely unknown, we argue that the most plausible candidate is the formation of dynamic links mediated by synchrony over multiple frequency bands.
Varela
F
F
Laboratoire de Neurosciences Cognitives et Imagerie Cérébrale, Hôpital de la Salpétrière, Paris 47 Boulevard de l'Hôpital, 75651 Paris Cedex 13, France. fv@ccr.jussieu.fr
Lachaux
J P
JP
Rodriguez
E
E
Martinerie
J
J
D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D004594:Electrophysiology; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*