EEG and Thinking

Abstract

What goes on in the brain when we think? How can we solve a complex problem? How can we pursue an idea and finally reach a desired goal? Although a lot of neuroscience studies have extended our knowledge of the ongoing processes when our brain, for example, recalls words, discriminates coloured stimuli or detects deviants in a given display, we still know little about the ongoing dynamics when we think. What processes are necessary to compare two objects, to solve and understand a categorical syllogism, to infer the potential cause of an observed effect, or what happens when we see a Gestalt in apparently meaningless information? William James in 1890 proposed the idea that thinking is a constant ongoing stream of thoughts. In this chapter we attempt to give a brief overview of the notion of how to investigate the stream of thoughts by means of electroencephalography (EEG). First, we provide a short introduction to the technique. Then we address the notion of synchronization and describe how synchronization (binding) might help to identify the basic atoms of thinking, representing the elementary building blocks that form the stream of complex thoughts (molecules, objects). Moreover, we demonstrate how EEG can help us to understand basic thinking operations, like categorization, and make it possible to come up with new and refined cognitive models. That should help us to get a clearer picture of the question: What processes and dynamics go on in our brain when we think? We hope to show that despite the existing predominance of functional magnetic resonance imaging results concerning the current debate on the cognitive architecture of our brain, EEG may provide a more appropriate and powerful tool for the understanding of the stream of thoughts.