# Cycles in mind * Author: [Mike X Cohen](https://www.amazon.com/Mike-X-Cohen/e/B00EWB0HO2/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1) * ASIN: B013ZI5AIA * Pages: 99 pages * Publication: August 15, 2015 * Publisher: Sinc(x) press (August 15, 2015) * Reference: [[https://www.amazon.com/dp/B013ZI5AIA]] * [Kindle link](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA) --- Instead, we have brains with oscillation frequencies that are close-to-but-not-quite-exactly integer multiples of each previous frequency 24. This organization optimizes several biological and information-processing constraints. — location: [317](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=317) --- understanding flicker-induced visual illusions might help explain why abnormal brain activity patterns result in hallucinations, for example in individuals with schizophrenia. — location: [446](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=446) --- So, the idea is that alpha-band oscillatory power in the sensory processing regions of your brain is a mechanism that helps you pay less attention to the outside world, and more attention to the world inside your head. — location: [515](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=515) --- Very fast oscillations control with millisecond precision whether and how sensory information is processed; slower fluctuations in neural oscillations control attention over the course of seconds, and even slower oscillations control fluctuations in attention over the span of tens of seconds to minutes. — location: [536](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=536) --- There are slow fluctuations over 90-minute cycles, which determine cognitive task performance including language and math tests 51. — location: [544](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=544) --- the speed of the information that is communicated in spoken language is fairly similar across a range of human languages. — location: [572](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=572) --- the real monkey showed interest in the avatar monkey only when the avatar lip-smacked at 6 Hz; not when the avatar lip-smacked at 3 Hz or at 9 Hz. This finding suggests that the specific frequency of communication plays an important role in transmitting the content of that communication. — location: [594](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=594) --- perhaps the reason why spoken communication is so rhythmic is that rhythmic signals are the best way to maximize the amount of information that can be extracted from those signals by the brain. — location: [622](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=622) --- When there is synchronicity between the timing of sensory inputs and the timing of sensory brain oscillations, the brain is able to predict when the next sensory input will arrive, and this in turn can be used to optimize the processing of that information. This was one of the important things to know about oscillations: They allow prediction. — location: [678](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=678) --- Peak glucocorticoid levels are associated with learning new skills and memories, whereas trough glucocorticoid levels are associated with consolidating those events into stable long-lasting memories 80. — location: [765](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=765) --- If the relationship between natural glucocorticoid oscillations and memory formation is confirmed to exist in humans, it suggests that we can optimize learning new skills by coordinating our learning schedules with our hourly hormonal cycles. This may be the underlying cause for the observation that performance on math and language tests fluctuates every ~90 minutes 51. — location: [768](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=768) --- If you are interested in reading more about the science and philosophy of the nature of consciousness and how it might be produced by the structure and function of the brain, you can consider starting with the book listed in citation 88. — location: [859](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=859) --- The most well-characterized relationship between oscillations and emotions, for example, is the female menstrual cycle, with which most women and several men are keenly familiar. — location: [881](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=881) --- It is difficult to know whether the abnormal patterns of brain activity preceded or resulted from the disease. That is, it is possible that excessive drinking has long-lasting damaging effects on brain activity, but it is equally possible (and may in fact be more likely 92 that individuals with abnormal patterns of brain activity are more likely to become heavy drinkers. — location: [899](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=899) --- In this sense, neurofeedback may produce similar positive effects as meditation or other established methods for relaxation. — location: [935](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=935) --- 10. Buzsaki, G. Rhythms of the Brain. (Oxford University Press, 2006). — location: [995](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=995) --- Dehaene, S. Consciousness and the Brain: Deciphering How the Brain Codes Our Thoughts. 352 (Penguin Books, 2014). — location: [1094](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=1094) --- Cryan, J. F. & Dinan, T. G. Mind-altering microorganisms: the impact of the gut microbiota on brain and behaviour. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 13, 701-12 (2012). — location: [1109](kindle://book?action=open&asin=B013ZI5AIA&location=1109)