The Slowest Shared Resonance: A Review of Electromagnetic Field Oscillations Between Central and Peripheral Nervous Systems

Abstract

Overview

Electromagnetic field oscillations produced by the brain are increasingly being viewed as causal drivers of consciousness. Recent research has highlighted the importance of the body's various endogenous rhythms in organizing these brain-generated fields through various types of entrainment.

Findings

• This review expands current approaches by examining evidence of extracerebral shared oscillations between the brain and other parts of the body, in both humans and animals.
• The degree to which these data support the Slowest Shared Resonance (SSR) principle—one of General Resonance Theory's (GRT) core principles—is analyzed. The SSR principle states that the combination of micro- to macro-consciousness in coupled field systems is a function of the slowest common denominator frequency or resonance.
• The SSR principle could be used to develop a spatiotemporal hierarchy of brain-body shared resonance systems, with the prediction that a system's SSR decreases with distance between the brain and resonating structures in the body.

Conclusion

• The various resonance relationships examined—including those between the brain and gastric neurons, brain and sensory organs, and brain and spinal cord—were found to generally match the predicted SSR relationships.
• This provides empirical support for the SSR principle within GRT and demonstrates the importance of shared electromagnetic field oscillations in organizing consciousness and bodily function.