The study shows that brain signals only count if they arrive on time

Signals are only processed if they reach the brain for brief receptive cycles. This synchronization mechanism explains how the attention filters information and can shed light on therapies and brain -inspired technologies.

It has long been recognized that the brain gives priority to the information to which we draw our attention. A well -known example is the cocktail effect.

“In an environment full of voices, music and background noise, the brain manages to focus on one voice. The other noises are not objectively quieter, but are perceived less strongly at this time, “explains Dr. Eric Drebitz, brain researcher at the University of Bremen.

In such cases, the brain channels its power of treatment towards the most relevant entry – like the voice of a conversation partner – while other sounds are always recorded but not treated so deeply.

Drebitz: “So far, it was not clear how this critical survival mechanism of the selection of relevant information is controlled. capable of reacting quickly and taking evasive measures. »»

Cheming: the key to processing information

A research team led by neuroscientists Andreas Kreiter and Eric Drebitz has now provided the first causal evidence of the way the brain selects and processes important information.

“The question of whether a signal is treated further in the brain depends essentially on its arrival at the right time – during a short phase of increased receptivity of nerve cells,” explains Drebitz. “The nerve cells do not work continuously, but in fast cycles. They are very active and receptive for a few milliseconds, followed by a lower activity and reactivity. This cycle repeats around 10 to 20 milliseconds. It is only when a signal arrives just before the peak of this active phase which modifies the neural behavior. ”

This precise timing is the main principle of information processing. Attention derives from this mechanism by adjusting the rhythm of the nerve cells so that the relevant signals reach them in the receptive window, while the unrelevant signals are filtered.

In order to prove the cause of this fundamental mechanism of our brain, the selective transmission of the stimulus has been studied in rhesus monkeys – a species This is very similar to humans in the organization of the cerebral cortex. The animals have carried out a visual task on a screen while very low electric stimuli were generated in an early section of the visual processing route (V2 zone). These artificial signals were not linked to the task and only served as a test stimuli. The team then analyzed how these signals affected an area downstream (V4 zone).

“The Artificially Triggered Signals Only Influenced the Activity of the Nerve Cells in V4 when they arrived During a short phase of Increased receptivity. If the Same Signal Arrive Too early or Too Late, It Had No Effect. If it arrived with the sensitive time window, Activity of the Nerve Cells, but also the behavior of the animals: they reacted more slowly and made more mistakes – from which it can be concluded that test signal, which contained no information for the task, Became part of the treatment and therefore interfered with the performance of the real task ”, explains Drebitz.

Important to understand the brain and treatment Alzheimer’s And ADHD

“The results provide a basis for developing more precise models of the brain. They show how the information is selected and priority before it leads to perception, learning and behavior, ”explains Drebitz. However, this knowledge is not only important for foundation research, but also for the field of medicine, “because diseases such as Alzheimer and ADHD are associated with problems in selective processing and storage of relevant information. And also for new technologies such as brain interfaces that communicate directly with the brain. ” For such systems to operate reliably, they must feed information at precisely timed intervals and correctly read the models of nerve cells. The development of artificial intelligence (AI) could also benefit from these principles, as they could serve as a model for particularly flexible and effective treatment.

Reference: “The synchronization of the gamma strip between neurons in the visual cortex is causal for effective processing and behavior” by Eric Drebitz, Lukas-Paul Rausch and Andreas K. Kreiter, August 11, 2025, Nature communications.
Two: 10.1038 / S41467-025-62732-8

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