For nearly a century, scientists have been trying to decode the mysterious patterns of “brain waves”, the rhythmic electrical signals rippling through the brain. Now, a groundbreaking development by a Stanford-led research team has revealed these waves in greater detail than ever before.
Described in the journal Cell, the new technology uses ultra-sensitive optical instruments to detect electrical activity in the brains of mice. These tools rely on genetically engineered proteins called “voltage indicators” and can track real-time brain wave movements with unprecedented clarity.
“This is the first time we’re getting a very broad view of waves propagating across the brain,” said Mark J. Schnitzer, senior author and professor of biology and applied physics at Stanford University.
He added,
“We can look at multiple brain areas at once and see the brain waves sweeping across the cortex, the brain’s outermost layer of nerve tissue, with cell-type specificity.”
Unlike older methods like EEGs that detect electrical activity via electrodes at single points, the new system uses light-based optics to image the entire brain surface and even zoom in on specific neuron types.
The innovation builds upon more than a decade of research, including earlier work on a method known as TEMPO, first introduced in 2016. In the new study, researchers introduced two enhanced TEMPO instruments:
A fiber optic sensor that is 10 times more sensitive than earlier models and can monitor activity while mice are in motion.
An optical mesoscope that captures an 8 mm-wide view of the brain, displaying activity across most of the neocortex, the region responsible for perception and cognition.
New Brain Waves Discovered
Using this dual-instrument setup, the team identified three previously unrecorded brain wave patterns. These include:
- Two new beta waves, which are linked to alert thinking. Uniquely, they travel at right angles to each other.
- A theta wave, associated with memory, that not only moved forward but also in reverse.
The discovery of a backward-moving theta wave is particularly intriguing. Researchers believe this may resemble “backpropagation,” a learning mechanism used in artificial intelligence.
Bridging Brain Science and AI
“It seems the brain has an internal clock that synchronizes neural activity,” said Radosław Chrapkiewicz, co-lead author and director of engineering in Schnitzer’s lab. “But these travelling waves may also actively reorganize neural circuits across large distances, beyond just local connections.” This insight, he added, could “play an important role in further bio-inspired AI models.”
Researchers say the implications could be vast, even though the findings currently apply only to mice.
“There are a lot of very important applications in the field of neuroscience for understanding pathology and different dynamics in the brain,” said Simon Haziza, the study’s lead author. “We are just scratching the surface.”
The team believes the new instruments could offer vital insights into neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, epilepsy, and schizophrenia, all of which are linked to disruptions in brain wave activity.
With the discovery of new wave patterns and the unveiling of how specific neuron types contribute to these signals, Stanford’s innovation could redefine how scientists explore brain disorders and how engineers develop the next generation of artificial intelligence.
This technology offers a new lens into the brain’s electrical rhythm, one that might illuminate the path toward better understanding the mind and building smarter machines inspired by it.