Scientists Uncover the Brain’s Secret for Coordinating Fast and Slow Information

The human brain is constantly processing information that arrives at vastly different speeds. Some signals demand immediate responses, while others require slower, more elaborate analysis to extract meaning. How the brain successfully coordinates these parallel processes has long remained an open question.

In a study published in Nature Communications, a research team from Rutgers Health has unveiled a novel mechanism that enables the brain to integrate information operating on different timescales. This coordination relies on a complex network of neural connections known as white matter, which functions like a system of neural highways linking different regions of the brain.

One of the study’s key findings is that each brain region operates according to its own “internal clock,” referred to as intrinsic neural timescales. These clocks determine how long a region retains information before updating to new input. Areas involved in attention and movement function at very fast timescales, while regions associated with abstract thinking and planning operate more slowly.

To understand how these regions work together, the researchers analyzed magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data from 960 individuals and created detailed maps of communication networks within each brain. Using advanced mathematical models, they traced how information flows and becomes integrated across regions with different processing speeds.

The results showed that the efficiency of this integration is directly linked to cognitive performance. Individuals whose white matter connections were better “tuned” to the temporal differences between brain regions tended to perform better on mental tasks.

Even more striking, the study connected these temporal differences to fundamental biological characteristics, including the molecular and cellular composition of brain tissue. The researchers also found that the same principles apply to mouse brains, suggesting a conserved mechanism across species.

These findings open a new avenue for understanding mental health disorders. Disruptions in the brain’s temporal coordination may play a key role in conditions such as schizophrenia and depression, where information flow and processing speed are often impaired.

The research team is now applying the same methodology to further investigate this hypothesis, a step that could ultimately lead to more precise diagnostic tools and targeted treatments in the future.