FLOW · The rhythms of our mind. A mechanistic model of how oscillating body-brain states structure human cognition

We live in a rhythmic world. Take a deep breath, listen to your heartbeat, to the trees swinging with the wind, music playing, people chatting. Every perception and cognition, every heartbeat happens in time following its own rhythmic frequency. Our brain also generates rhythmic brain waves and there is wide consensus that these neural oscillations are a fundamental building block of how our brain works. Interestingly, the brain is not the only organ generating such intrinsic rhythmic signals. Bodily rhythms such as heartbeats, breathing or gastrointestinal activity can also be described as endogenous oscillators. But are these brain and bodily rhythms functionally relevant for how we perceive the world? Could it be that these rhythms determine what we attend to, what we remember and how much information we can store in our mind? This ERC proposes a new perspective on how oscillating body-brain states structure our cognition. We hypothesize that brain rhythms enable us to adapt to changing cognitive demands by flexibly switching between two fundamental operating modes: (i) to support communication between brain regions (WP1), and (ii) to code for the mental representation of specific content in our mind (WP2). We further propose that bodily rhythms can also dynamically tune their coupling strength with the brain in a state-dependent manner (WP3), supporting the operating mode of neural oscillations when being in “flow” (WP4). We formalize these hypotheses in a proposed FLexible Oscillatory Workspace (FLOW) model and empirically test our predictions using a noninvasive “brain pinging” approach for causally probing state-dependent rhythmic body-brain coupling mechanisms. In a final proof-of-principle project, we will then use rhythmic non-invasive neuromodulation for entraining and tuning intrinsic brain and body-brain rhythms to enhance cognitive performance and develop new rhythmic neuromodulation therapies to treat cognitive deficits (WP5).