The book is an up-to-date collection of different studies covering a wide range of topics. The primary topic is oscillations of various frequencies, starting from ultra-slow (0.01–0.1 Hz) and ending with the gamma range (40–100 Hz). Additionally, large portion of book discusses graph-based metrics of connectivity profiles obtained with EEG, MEG, fMRI etc. Lastly, some insights into the pathologies are given, namely hearing loss, tinnitus, dyslexia, autism, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer’s disease. The book doesn’t have a somewhat coherent storyline, but the general idea is that oscillations are causally relevant to brain functioning. This idea is reinforced by descriptions of studies from micro- to macro-level, from looking into spike-local field potential to estimating the correlation of ocillatory changes with behavior. Although oscillations are my area of expertise, I still found many interesting pieces of information, which I am eager to share here.

Did you know that:

• theta oscillations in hippocampus and in cortex have little in common;

• there are brain areas identified as belonging to System One and System Two (from Thinking, Fast and Slow by D. Kahneman);

• spontaneous activity is the main cortical process, and stimulus arrival causes pertubation in this activity;

• coherence between EEG electrodes poorly correlates with coherence in local field potentials (LFPs - recording directly from brain surface);

• LFP represents the firing rate of a population and may well be uncorrelated with the firing of individual neurons.

In general, I had high expectations that were only partially met. The studies presented are up-to-date, and I did find some useful references along the way. However, what I didn’t like is that many topics revolved around graph-based connectivity and hubs, as if studying oscillations by themselves was not enough. When describing disorders, only dry evidence was presented without making overarching conclusions. Additionally, I felt that some discussions and expressions of doubt could have been beneficial because taking the results of connectivity studies with MEG/EEG at face value is never the right approach. Beyond the content, the information was very densely packed and sometimes difficult to digest.

Each chapter of the book has a nice and informative summary at the end. Perhaps the author never meant the book to be read from cover to cover.

August, 2023