New Study Captures Fast-Spinning Waves Across Entire Brains

A new study has captured fast-spinning traveling waves that span entire brains, @ScienceMagazine reported. Neurons coordinate electrical signals in rhythmic patterns called traveling waves that sweep across the cortex, the brain’s outermost layer. Recent studies in humans and animals have shown these patterns can take on complex shapes, including a rotating spiral.

Such spiral patterns have been observed during deep sleep, memory retrieval, and other brain processes. The new findings provide clues to how the waves are organized and what they might do.