PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE ED - , TI - Long-Distance Synchrony AID - 10.1126/stke.2782005tw130 DP - 2005 Apr 05 TA - Science's STKE PG - tw130--tw130 VI - 2005 IP - 278 4099 - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/2005/278/tw130.short 4100 - http://stke.sciencemag.org/content/2005/278/tw130.full SO - Sci. STKE2005 Apr 05; 2005 AB - How do distant brain areas communicate with each other? It is thought that neurons increase their impact on target groups through precise oscillatory synchronization. Long-range coherence modulation might represent a general mechanism for regulating the flow of information within the nervous system. To test this idea in human volunteers, Schoffelen et al. combined magneto-encephalography and electromyographic recordings during the performance of a basic reaction-time task, where the subjects implicitly learned the increasing or decreasing probability of a signal. The coherence of gamma-band (40 to 70 Hertz) oscillations between the motor cortex and the spinal cord did indeed make motor outputs more effective. J.-M. Schoffelen, R. Oostenveld, P. Fries, Neuronal coherence as a mechanism of effective corticospinal interaction. Science 308, 111-113 (2005). [Abstract] [Full Text]