What Are Gamma Waves (And How Are They Relevant to Clinical Psychiatry)?

This review raises the importance of understanding the functions of gamma waves in the practice of clinical psychiatry. Measured by electroencephalograph (EEG), gamma waves are those electrical waves between 30 Hz and 200 Hz, and are relevant to psychiatry because of their ability to influence other brain electrical activity, and thence have associations with various mental disorders. To inform readers, gamma waves are defined and described, and some examples of their association with psychiatric disorders are briefly recounted. Four ways in which gamma waves might modulate brain activity and influence behaviour, potentially leading to a comprehensive model of gamma and its association with mental illness, are discussed. Inconsistencies in definition, measurement, and findings from gamma wave research are also described, and suggestions made for overcoming these limitations in future research.