Your Brain Has a Hidden Beat -- and Smarter Minds Sync To It (sciencedaily.com) 36
alternative_right shares a report from ScienceDaily: When the brain is under pressure, certain neural signals begin to move in sync -- much like a well-rehearsed orchestra. A new study from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) is the first to show how flexibly this neural synchrony adjusts to different situations and that this dynamic coordination is closely linked to cognitive abilities. "Specific signals in the midfrontal brain region are better synchronized in people with higher cognitive ability -- especially during demanding phases of reasoning," explained Professor Anna-Lena Schubert from JGU's Institute of Psychology, lead author of the study recently published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.
The researchers focused on the midfrontal area of the brain and the measurable coordination of the so-called theta waves. These brainwaves oscillate between four and eight hertz and belong to the group of slower neural frequencies. "They tend to appear when the brain is particularly challenged such as during focused thinking or when we need to consciously control our behavior," said Schubert, who heads the Analysis and Modeling of Complex Data Lab at JGU. The 148 participants in the study, aged between 18 and 60, first completed tests assessing memory and intelligence before their brain activity was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG). [...]
As a result, individuals with higher cognitive abilities showed especially strong synchronization of theta waves during crucial moments, particularly when making decisions. Their brains were better at sustaining purposeful thought when it mattered most. "People with stronger midfrontal theta connectivity are often better at maintaining focus and tuning out distractions, be it that your phone buzzes while you're working or that you intend to read a book in a busy train station," explained Schubert. The findings have been published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.
The researchers focused on the midfrontal area of the brain and the measurable coordination of the so-called theta waves. These brainwaves oscillate between four and eight hertz and belong to the group of slower neural frequencies. "They tend to appear when the brain is particularly challenged such as during focused thinking or when we need to consciously control our behavior," said Schubert, who heads the Analysis and Modeling of Complex Data Lab at JGU. The 148 participants in the study, aged between 18 and 60, first completed tests assessing memory and intelligence before their brain activity was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG). [...]
As a result, individuals with higher cognitive abilities showed especially strong synchronization of theta waves during crucial moments, particularly when making decisions. Their brains were better at sustaining purposeful thought when it mattered most. "People with stronger midfrontal theta connectivity are often better at maintaining focus and tuning out distractions, be it that your phone buzzes while you're working or that you intend to read a book in a busy train station," explained Schubert. The findings have been published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology.
I can't wait... (Score:4, Funny)
I'm looking forward to reading all the Slashdot posts where people explain how this obviously is what happens to them.
Re:I can't wait... (Score:4, Funny)
I was going to say that, but I got distracted.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
Impossible. Not a iota of theta waves if you waste time online.
Re: (Score:1)
Re: I can't wait... (Score:2)
This happens to me mostly if I play too much of the Crypt of the Necrodancer. ;-)
For $200, mental states (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
You don't know the old misosoupist joke?
Q: Why did the barbie stare at the carton of orange juice for full two hours?
A: It said "concentrate".
Re: (Score:2)
Audience claps
<thinks, that went well>
Ok, Ken, I'll take Mental States for $300
ADHD Wife (Score:2)
I would love to hook my high functioning ADHD wife up to one of these things and have them be completely baffled that anything resembling reason occurs with zero orchestral organization amongst the theta waves.
Re: (Score:2)
Lucky bastard.
Re: (Score:2)
Well, she IS neurodivergent.
Re: (Score:2)
I'd like to see results of folks suffering post-covid goldfish brain.
I'd love to see multi-decade studies (Score:1)
I'd love to see multi-decade studies following the thousands of subjects over their adult lifetimes.
humans are so smart. (Score:2)
Re:humans are so smart. (Score:5, Funny)
These are the best things in life.
Re: humans are so smart. (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
No, success isn't overrated. it's judged by the wrong metrics. What you describe there at the end IS success.
Off the top of your head, how many non-dysfunctional marriages and families can you list? If it's more than one you're probably already lucky in this day and age.
Some people ... (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Have beets, will borscht
Re: (Score:2)
Check the whole TW/X thread:
Give me a break. Give me a break.
Re: (Score:2)
I've heard that name before... (Score:2)
Can we really trust a Dr. Schubert to be totally unbiased in matters of music?
If the paper gets cited by a bunch of researchers named Bach and Chopin, then no.
8Hz (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Actually, GHz is only the internal clock rate. Typical hardware achieves about 12-300 tokens/second depending on the GPU and model size - so we're talking Hz range, not even kHz. An RTX 4090 with 2.5 GHz clocks does roughly 20 tokens/second on 7B models, while an H100 manages around 250 tokens/second on larger models.
If models get bigger, that rate might shrink, while at the same time hardware gets faster, but altogether the effective "inference frequency" stays remarkably close to those 8Hz.
Music as neural entrainment? (Score:2)
Interesting that phone buzzes seem to help me concentrate - maybe that's the 'sync' you're talking about? I've noticed simple monotone music with a clear beat helps me get into flow state. Could external rhythms actually help entrain these theta waves? Seems like our brains might naturally lock onto consistent beats to boost that midfrontal synchronization.
I got an idea.... (Score:1)
Flow? (Score:3)
Freeware software that does something like this (Score:1)
It can be (in theory) to increase focus and intelligence but currently software increases synchronization between all brain measurement points and not just midfrontal points at theta frequency as this study does. It supports BrainAccess HALO and Interaxon Muse EEG-devices that don't measure EEG at middle areas of the brain. Research seem to show that mild increase in synchronization between brain regions may increase concentratio
Hubbard was right (Score:1)
It's all about theta waves. Those who have become "clear" and can harmonize the frequency of their theta are known as operating thetans.
Herbert (Score:3)