Spontaneous synchronization of oscillations between multiple cortical sites and exact fit of the wave crest with the onset of word recognition, significantly accelerate performing of a cognitive task

Spontaneous synchronization of oscillations between multiple cortical sites and exact fit of the wave crest with the onset of word recognition, significantly accelerate performing of a cognitive task. Victor Vvedensky1, Vitaly Verkhlyutov 2, Konstantin Gurtovoy1 . 1 RNC Kurchatov Institute, Moscow, Russia 2 Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of RAS, Moscow, Russia [email protected] Abstract We measured magnetic signals of the brain during recognition of spoken words. Sometimes a subject confirms recognition very quickly – when only just the third of the word sound was perceived. We pay special attention to these cases. Characteristic feature of these events is that during recognition process multiple cortical sites display a single oscillatory episode, specific for each location. In addition to episodes with rather irregular time course of the magnetic signal, in the comparable number of sites we see just two waves, which perfectly fit into the time window of the recognition. Moreover, the start of word perception coincides with the initial wave crest, while the crest after two waves coincides with the keystroke confirming recognition. We believe that synchronization of spontaneous oscillations with the recognition process significantly accelerates its progress. Keywords: Word Recognition, Cortical Oscillations, Oscillatory Episodes, Magnetic Encephalography. Funding This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation - Grant no. 23-78-00011.