Neuroscience
The Electroencephalographer's Couch
BRAIN WAVE SOFA
, by lucas maassen
The Brain Wave Sofa is a representation of a 3 second wave of Alpha brain activity captured with a 3d EEG.
It shows the 3 seconds when the eyes closed.
From the 3d-EEG the file got directly milled in faom by a 3d milling machine and then upholstred in felt by hand.
in cooperation with Dries Verbruggen (Unfold)
Close your eyes and relax...
However, information aesthetics was a bit wrong when they said
the purpose of alpha waves (in the EEG frequency band of 8-12 Hz) is only "to prepare the brain for the large input of signals when one opens the eyes.
" According to Başar et al. (1997), their function is much more complex:
The old concept stating that EEG alpha (10-Hz) activity reflects passive or idling states of the brain is giving way to modern views of 10-Hz oscillations in relation to diverse brain functions comprising sensory, motor, and memory processes: (1) Spontaneous alpha activity is not pure noise as shown by methods of chaos analysis. (2) Evoked alpha oscillations patterns (precisely time-locked to a stimulus; duration approx. 200-300 ms) depend on the modality of stimulation and the recording site. (3) Induced alpha oscillations are initiated by, but not closely time-locked to a stimulus. (4) 10-Hz oscillations are recorded in nervous systems of different complexities, from the human brain to isolated ganglia of invertebrates. The neural origins of 10-Hz oscillations are demonstrated by recordings at the cellular level. (5) Rather than trying to locate a unique alpha generator, it is preferable to assume that a 'diffuse and distributed alpha system' exists. A particular support for this hypothesis is given by stimulus-dependent hippocampal alpha responses in the cat brain. (6) The major physiological meaning of 10-Hz oscillations may be comparable to the putative universal role of gamma responses in brain signaling.
From Fig. 1A (Hughes & Crunelli, 2007).ReferencesBaşar E, Schürmann M, Başar-Eroglu C, Karakaş S. (1997). Alpha oscillations in brain functioning: an integrative theory.
Int J Psychophysiol. 26:5-29.
Hughes SW, Crunelli V. (2007). Just a phase they're going through: the complex interaction of intrinsic high-threshold bursting and gap junctions in the generation of thalamic alpha and theta rhythms.
Int J Psychophysiol. 64:3-17.
via @channelNvideo
-
Electric Stimulation Boosts Beneficial Effect Of Sleep On Memory
Having a nap is a great way to consolidate your memory for what you’ve just learned. Now it appears researchers have found a way to boost this beneficial effect. A control condition confirmed the benefits of sleep: 13 participants remembered 37.42 words...
-
End Of Life Gamma Waves: Altered State Of Consciousness Or Artifactual Brain Activity?
"I had been in labor for my daughter for 16 hours. The labor was difficult and the Dr. approached me and told me it may come down to a choice between the child or myself. ... The labor dragged on and on and finally they came in and broke my...
-
The Schneider Brain Wave Synchronizer
Recently offered on eBay UK, this VINTAGE SCHNEIDER BRAIN WAVE SYNCHRONIZER MODEL MD-5 was described by the seller thusly: 3 DIFFERENT RANGES - DELTA, ALPHA AND BETA HAS A LID AND LEADS AND PLUG BUT POSSIBLY WILL NEED CHECKING BY A ELECTRIAN. I HAVE PLUGGED...
-
Correlations Between Slow Cortical Potentials And Spontaneous Fluctuations Of The Bold Signal
How do hemodynamic and electrophysiological1 measures of brain activity relate to each other? A cool new open access article in PNAS (He et al., 2008) reports on the similarities between spontaneous fluctuations in the BOLD (blood-oxygen-level-dependent)...
-
In The News: Nifrolidine
This research study noted below been reported today in some media, in terms of potential implications for the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease. Here is the study's abstract, which is more technical in content and less speculative in nature:
Chattopadhyay...
Neuroscience