Resonance phenomena in the human auditory cortex: individual resonance frequencies of the cerebral cortex determine electrophysiological responses

Abstract

The brain can be considered a dynamical system which is able to oscillate at multiple frequencies. To study the brain's preferred oscillation frequencies, the resonance frequencies in the frequency response of the system can be assessed by stimulating the brain at various stimulation frequencies. Furthermore, the event-related potential (ERP) can be considered as the brain's impulse response. For linear dynamical systems, the frequency response should be equivalent to the frequency transform of the impulse response. The present study test whether this fundamental relation is also true for the frequency transform of the ERP and the frequency response of the brain. Results show that the spectral characteristics of both impulse and frequency response in the gamma frequency range are significantly correlated. Thus, we speculate that the resonance frequencies determine the frequency spectrum of the impulse response. This, in turn, implies that both measures are determined by the same, individually specific, neuronal generator mechanisms.