Brain rhythms are linked to learning

Three articles to peruse,I don't know what they might have to do with stroke recovery but hell somebody can make sense of them.
From McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT

New McGovern study finds that brain waves shift frequency as a new task becomes routine.
Neuroscientists have long known of the existence of brain waves — rhythmic fluctuations of electrical activity believed to reflect the brain’s state. For example, during rest, brain activity slows down to an alpha rhythm of about eight to 10 hertz, or cycles per second.

It has been unclear what role, if any, these waves play in cognitive functions such as learning and memory. But now, a study from MIT neuroscientists shows that a switch between two of these rhythms is critical for learning habitual behavior.

In a paper appearing this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers report that as rats learn to run a maze, activity in a brain region that controls habit formation shifts from a fast, chaotic rhythm to a slower, more synchronized pace. That switch, which occurs just as the rats start to master the maze, likely signals that a habit has been formed, says MIT Institute Professor Ann Graybiel, senior author of the PNAS paper.

This is a major clue to how the brain reorganizes itself during learning, says Graybiel, who is also a principal investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT.

Gamma, alpha, delta, and theta oscillations govern cognitive processes

The increased interest in gamma oscillations, now widely regarded as functionally relevant signals of the brain, underlines the importance of the concept of event-related oscillations for bridging the gap between single neurons and neural assemblies.

 

 

Are cognitive processes manifested in event-related gamma, alpha, theta and delta oscillations in the EEG?

Gamma oscillations, now widely regarded as functionally relevant signals of the brain, illustrate that the concept of event-related oscillations bridges the gap between single neurons and neural assemblies. Taking this concept further, we review experiments concerning oscillatory responses to events (in the alpha, theta and delta ranges) as possible correlates of sensory and cognitive functions. It is argued that selectively distributed delta, theta, alpha and gamma oscillatory systems act as resonant communication networks through large populations of neurons, with functional relations to memory and integrative functions.

 

 

Have fun and ask your doctor to explain these in detail.  I want to know how to use these to get better cognition, better than BS(before stroke)

That tin-foil hat may come in handy.