Is there a wave excitation in the Thalamus?

Abstract

This paper proposes that the thalamus is the site of a wave excitation, whose function is to represent the locations of things around the animal. Neurons couple to the wave as transmitters and receivers. The wave acts as an analogue representation of local space. This has benefits over a purely neural representation of space. Several lines of evidence support this hypothesis; both theoretical, concerning efficient Bayesian inference in the brain, and empirical, concerning the neuro-anatomy of the thalamus. Across all species, the most basic function of the brain is to coordinate movements in space. To represent positions in space only by neural firing rates would be complex and inefficient. It is possible that that the brain represents 3D space in a direct and natural way, by a 3D wave

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