Spiraling waves of neural activity appear and travel in the brain, scientists announced on June 18. Researchers hope to learn if these rotating waves play a global role in sensing and interpreting internal and external stimuli, laying down memory, and managing motor performance.
The research team led the study, with findings on these vortex-like waves reported this week in Science. The scientists examined how a mouse brain's anatomical wiring coordinates the structure and propagation of the waves, which most commonly originate in the somatosensory region. This area processes sensations felt by the skin and muscles as well as cues about body position, posture, parts, and other stimuli.
According to their observations, neurons that generate these rotating waves form a merry-go-round-like pattern in the sensory cortex. Their axons point in a circle—a fixed architectural arrangement that coincides with the spiral motion of the brain wave. The scientists found that these waves were mirrored on both sides of the mouse brain and coordinated between both sensory and motor regions. Spiral wave timing also matched spiking detected deeper within areas associated with low-level functions such as the thalamus, striatum, and midbrain.
Because these rotating waves travel to different brain regions, they may play a role in sharing information across parts responsible for interdependent functions. For example, interplay between sensory cortex and motor cortex is likely crucial for navigating surroundings or voluntary physical movements. Scientists used cortex-wide imaging techniques alongside large-scale electrophysiology measurements to observe effects from stimuli like puffs of air on mouse whiskers or object-detection games requiring paw-eye coordination.
The researchers have yet to determine if such traveling spiral waves are coordinated globally across other species—including humans—to the same extent seen in mice. They suggest that rotating wave dynamics might serve as space-and-time clocks setting off chains of sensation followed by action, or help strengthen connections through repeated visual-motor tasks.
