The Rhythm of Memories

    I recently read an article from Discovery magasine called "Brainsong," in which the author had interviewed a neuroscientist by the name of Rodolfo Llinas.  The string of questions concerned Llinas' perspective as to how the brain functions, and this perspective "emphasizes frequency, time, and coherence as much as anatomy and neurochemistry."  Llinas has found that neurons intrinsically communicate with each other in low-level electric oscillatory rhythms, and that they do so intrinsically.  That is, this rhythmic neural oscillation occurs without the need for any sort of sensory input.  The generally thought of model of the brain is that it is akin to a computer, where it simply receives an efferent, sensory input, and then outputs a response using afferent motor neurons, however what actually happens is that incoming stimuli simply alter the inherent "chatting" that is already occurring between neurons of a given group, and then other neurons in that group will adjust to that altered oscillation frequency.  This is similar to the beating of the heart: it can be slowed or sped up, but it will always pump, and, in the case of the neural oscillations, they can be increased or decreased in frequency, but they will still already be occurring.  Furthermore, according to Rodolfo, regions of the brain that are involved in movement and coordination, such as the cerebellum, oscillate at 10 Hertz (Hz), or cycles per second, whereas faculties such as perception and cognition oscillate at 40 Hz, a frequency which is called gamma band.  But, while Llinas' findings are indisputable, I stipulate that his interpretation of what they entail is mistaken.  Why?
    In my post "The Memory Circuit," I had said that memories are comprised of circuits of neurons which "loop" through different areas of the brain.  What I did not say, however, is that each of these memory circuits are maintained by constant low-level electrical oscillations.  These oscillations could be what Llinas refers to when he said the cerebellum oscillates at 10 Hz, something which he interpreted to be the simple functioning of the region.  As I had referenced in my post "The Genius Gene," the brain stores basic statements, ideas or movements that it deems to be axiomatic in nature as memories, and then connects multiples of these simpler memories to form more complex conclusions.  I think that the memory of a simple movement or complex behaviour would be comprised of a neural circuit which "loops" through corresponding regions of the brain, such as the cerebellum, and I further stipulate that the neuroscientist's observation of brain regions responsible for movement oscillating at 10 Hz instead refers to memory circuits that involve movements in their stored recollections.  As a final point, I convict that if a memory circuit were to begin oscillating at 40 Hz, the individual would still only consciously recall it if multiple different cognitive stimuli were responsible for increasing the oscillatory frequency. 
   My next few posts will concern various points which Rodolfo Llinas made in the interview featured in a special edition of the Discovery magasine. 


References
"Brainsong." Interview by Kat McGowan. Discover May 2012: 15-22. Print.