Beta: bursts of cognition

2024/04/23 by Mikael Lundqvist, Earl K. Miller, Jonatan Nordmark +2 · 1 voice · 12 citations
Neuroscience · #EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces #Functional Brain Connectivity Studies #Neural dynamics and brain function

paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2024.03.010

openalex publication_date 2024/04/23 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

Beta oscillations are linked to the control of goal-directed processing of sensory information and the timing of motor output. Recent evidence demonstrates they are not sustained but organized into intermittent high-power bursts mediating timely functional inhibition. This implies there is a considerable moment-to-moment variation in the neural dynamics supporting cognition. Beta bursts thus offer new opportunities for studying how sensory inputs are selectively processed, reshaped by inhibitory cognitive operations and ultimately result in motor actions. Recent method advances reveal diversity in beta bursts that provide deeper insights into their function and the underlying neural circuit activity motifs. We propose that brain-wide, spatiotemporal patterns of beta bursting reflect various cognitive operations and that their dynamics reveal nonlinear aspects of cortical processing.

Citations

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• Diverse beta burst waveform motifs characterize movement-related cortical dynamics
• Gamma and Beta Bursts Underlie Working Memory
• Transient Oscillations of Neural Firing Rate Associated With Routing of Evidence in a Perceptual Decision

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• Spectral decomposition of local field potentials uncovers frequency-tuned gain modulation of working memory in primate visual system
• Frontotemporal bursting supports human working memory

Discussions

• New paper: Beta rhythms provide top-down regulation of cortical activity through intermittent bursts, not sustained tones. doi.org/10.1016/j.ti... #neuroscience [bsky, 4 points, 0 comments]

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