Thinking in sync: How brain rhythms support intelligence

Well-tuned brain activity patterns are linked to cognitive ability

Johannes Gutenberg Universitaet Mainz

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Test subject in an EEG booth

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Credit: photo/©: Henrike Jungeblut / Luis Ahrens

When the brain is under pressure, certain neural signals begin to move in sync – much like a well-rehearsed orchestra. A new study from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) is the first to show how flexibly this neural synchrony adjusts to different situations and that this dynamic coordination is closely linked to cognitive abilities. "Specific signals in the midfrontal brain region are better synchronized in people with higher cognitive ability – especially during demanding phases of reasoning," explained Professor Anna-Lena Schubert from JGU's Institute of Psychology, lead author of the study recently published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

The researchers focused on the midfrontal area of the brain and the measurable coordination of the so-called theta waves. These brainwaves oscillate between four and eight hertz and belong to the group of slower neural frequencies. "They tend to appear when the brain is particularly challenged such as during focused thinking or when we need to consciously control our behavior," said Schubert, who heads the Analysis and Modeling of Complex Data Lab at JGU.

Being able to focus even next to a buzzing phone

The 148 participants in the study, aged between 18 and 60, first completed tests assessing memory and intelligence before their brain activity was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG). This method measures tiny electrical signals in the brain using electrodes placed on the scalp and is a well-established technique for gaining precise insights into cognitive processes. During EEG recording, participants completed three mentally demanding tasks designed to assess cognitive control.

The researchers were interested in the participants' ability to flexibly shift between changing rules, which is an essential aspect of intelligent information processing. For example, participants had to press a button to decide whether a number was even or odd, and moments later whether it was greater or less than five. Each switch of rules required rapid adjustment of mental strategies – a process that allowed researchers to closely observe how the brain's networks coordinate in real time.

As a result, individuals with higher cognitive abilities showed especially strong synchronization of theta waves during crucial moments, particularly when making decisions. Their brains were better at sustaining purposeful thought when it mattered most. "People with stronger midfrontal theta connectivity are often better at maintaining focus and tuning out distractions, be it that your phone buzzes while you're working or that you intend to read a book in a busy train station," explained Schubert.

A flexible rhythm in the brain

Professor Anna-Lena Schubert was particularly surprised by how closely this brain rhythm coordination was tied to cognitive abilities. "We did not expect the relationship to be this clear," she said. What mattered most was not continuous synchronization, but the brain's ability to adapt its timing flexibly and contextually – like an orchestra that follows a skilled conductor. The midfrontal region often sets the tone in this coordination but works in concert with other areas across the brain. This midfrontal theta connectivity appears to be particularly relevant during the execution of decisions, however not during the preparatory mental adjustment to new task rules.

Previous EEG studies on cognitive ability mostly examined activity in isolated brain regions. In contrast, this study took a network-level approach, examining how different areas interact across multiple tasks to identify stable, overarching patterns. The findings show that individual differences in cognitive ability are linked to the brain's dynamic network behavior.

"Potential applications such as brain-based training tools or diagnostics are still a long way off," emphasized Schubert. "But our study offers important groundwork for understanding how intelligence functions at a neural level." A follow-up study, now seeking participants aged 40 and older from the Rhine-Main region, will explore which biological and cognitive factors further support this kind of efficient brain coordination and the role of additional cognitive abilities, such as processing speed and working memory.

Professor Dr. Anna-Lena Schubert

Credit

photo/©: Samira Schulz / Anna-Lena Schubert

Journal

Journal of Experimental Psychology General

DOI

10.1037/xge0001780 

Article Title

Trait characteristics of midfrontal theta connectivity as a neurocognitive measure of cognitive control and its relation to general cognitive abilities

 

National Poll: Many parents struggle letting teens have independence on family vacations

Balancing freedom with safety: Less than half of parents in new national poll would let teens stay in hotel room alone while they got breakfast or dinner

Michigan Medicine - University of Michigan

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Fewer than half of parents are likely to leave a teen alone while they go to a hotel breakfast or out for dinner while on vacation.

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Credit: Sara Schultz, University of Michigan

ANN ARBOR, Mich. –   Parents’ visions of family vacation time may not always match what their teens have in mind.

And many parents struggle with that transition in travel expectations as kids get older, a new national poll suggests, with one in five saying they have never allowed their teen to be away from them during a vacation or trip.

Fewer than half of parents are also likely to leave a teen alone while they go to a hotel breakfast or out for dinner, according to the University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.

“It’s natural for teens to seek more independence and time away from parents, especially in new environments like family vacations,” said Sarah Clark, M.P.H., co-director of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health.

“Allowing them some space can be a valuable opportunity to build confidence, practice decision-making, and develop self-management skills they’ll need as they move toward adulthood. Our poll found that many parents are hesitant about giving teens that level of independence.”

The nationally representative report, based on 1,047 responses from parents of teens polled in February, found that one in three parents would be very likely to allow their teen to walk a short distance to a coffee shop while on vacation. About one in five say they’d be very likely to let their teen split off separately at a museum or amusement park.

“Parents may believe they are shielding their teens from possible harm, but being overprotective can limit teens’ ability to develop important life skills such as navigating unfamiliar situations, assessing risks and facing real-world responsibilities,” Clark said.

“Helping teens gain independence is a gradual process, and vacations can be an ideal testing ground.”

Balancing trust with fear

Two-thirds of parents say they are very confident their teen would follow the rules if given the opportunity to spend time unsupervised in an unfamiliar setting. However, concerns about safety persist: half of all parents still worry about the risk of an accident or injury, regardless of their teen’s age or sex.

Parents of girls, however, are significantly more likely than parents of boys to worry about their teen being approached by a stranger (70% vs. 41%) or becoming frightened (37% vs. 21%). In contrast, parents of boys are more concerned that their teen might “do something dumb” or engage in risky behavior.

Among parents who report their teen has spent time away from them while on vacation, many indicate they set rules to keep their teen safe. Rules could include having the teen check in by phone, asking them to stay with friends or siblings and staying in agreed-upon locations.

More than half of parents also report using the tracking feature on their teen’s cell phone when they spent time away from parents while on vacation.

“Location tracking can be reassuring for parents when teens are away from them, but it’s most effective when it’s discussed openly and agreed on together in advance,” Clark said. “Parents can explain that it’s meant for safety, not surveillance.”

Clark also recommends parents help prepare teens to be on their own in age-appropriate ways. For example:

• Consider a first aid course: Rather than worry about their teen having an accident or injury, parents can enroll them in a first aid course online or through a community organization, so they can gain knowledge and skills.
• Go over basic safety guidelines: If parents feel their teen might be scared to stay alone in a hotel room for a short time, they might go over rules about locking the doors, responding to a knock from housekeeping or what to do if they’re approached by a stranger.
• Agree on how often and where you will reconnect: Discuss how often you’d like them to check in, where to meet, a time to return and how to contact parents if plans change.
• Create learning opportunities: If parents are uncertain about their teen’s ability, it’s on parents to find ways to practice, so teens can gain experience and confidence.

“While on vacation, it’s important for parents to have open conversations with their teen about how to balance freedom and safety,” Clark said.

“If approached thoughtfully, these moments away from direct parental supervision allow teens to practice responsibility and decision-making in a relatively safe environment, while still knowing support is nearby if needed.”

ISTA and Google launch research collaboration

Google presence in the xista science park connects

Institute of Science and Technology Austria

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Representatives from ISTA, xista, and Google are excited about the research collaboration. On the bridge between ISTA and the xista science park (from left to right): Martin Hetzer (ISTA, President), Dan Alistarh (ISTA, Professor), Sophie Bundle (xista, COO), Johannes Danzl (ISTA, Professor) Ruslan Guseinov (Google), Thomas Auzinger (Google), Bernd Bickel (ISTA, Professor), Markus Wanko (xista, Managing Director)

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Credit: © ISTA

The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) in Klosterneuburg and Google have signed a “Master Sponsored Research Agreement” to explore joint scientific research areas. Under this agreement, Google will collaborate with and fund research projects at ISTA, ranging from AI and algorithms to neuro-imaging techniques useful for medical research. In addition, Google has opened a presence at the xista science park directly opposite the ISTA campus to form a liaison between the American corporation, the fundamental researchers at the Institute and the start-ups of the xista ecosystem.

Martin Hetzer, President of ISTA, states: “The connections of our institute to society and the economy have been of central importance since our foundation over 15 years ago. We are delighted that the ecosystem of our campus has now been complemented by a cooperation with and a presence by Google.” Markus Wanko, Managing Director of xista, the Institute's tech transfer arm, adds: “In this collaboration, we are combining Google's industry-leading expertise, resources and innovative drive with ISTA's academic strength, research capabilities and agility. xista's innovation ecosystem serves as a perfect docking station for this purpose.”

Lizzie Dorfman, Product Lead for Science in Google Research, explains the reasons for partnering with the Institute: “ISTA with its strong focus on out-of-the-box and interdisciplinary thinking, covering many fields in the natural sciences, mathematics and computer sciences, is a good fit for such a research agreement with Google. We've seen great success in our previous collaborations and are happy to solidify and expand our work together through this agreement.”

Collaborations around lean AI, privacy and microscopy

The long-term agreement is intentionally broad in scope so that it can respond flexibly to opportunities and ideas as they arise. Current collaborations between ISTA and Google include projects in the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), digital fabrication, algorithms and imaging with applications in medical research.

Prof. Dan Alistarh's research group is working with Google on two projects relating to the efficiency of AI. One is about model compression (scaling laws for highly-accurate sparse models) and the other is about data compression (reducing the number of samples required to get a high-quality model).

Prof. Monika Henzinger's research group, on the other hand, contributes with its know-how in the field of algorithms and Differential Privacy to how Large Language Models can be trained while protecting people's personal data.

Also in the field of AI, Prof. Francesco Locatello works with Google on a project on how advances in vision language models can support science in the automated interpretation of climate data and probabilistic forecasts.

Prof. Johann Danzl and his research group are also working on new light microscopy methods that deliver more information-rich results than electron microscopy and that are capable of reconstructing brain tissue with all neuronal connections. These images produce countless data points. The group is working with Google Research on the computational analysis of these data. This new type of imaging method has great potential for applications in biomedical research. With the new agreement, Google and ISTA laid the groundwork for more collaborations of this kind.

Growth in the ISTA ecosystem

The Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) is a basic research institute with 90 research groups in the natural sciences, mathematics and computer sciences. The Institute is set to grow to 150 research groups by 2036. It connects to society through its science education brand VISTA Science Experiences and to economy through the xista innovation ecosystem. The xista science park directly opposite the ISTA campus offers space for science-related start-ups with a need for modern laboratory space and will be expanded with additional buildings over the next few years. The park also includes a presence of Google now, which is one more link to the Institute. The venture fund complementing the ecosystem, xista science ventures, has supported and funded 22 spin-offs from a range of scientific institutions, including ISTA.

The xista science park (bottom left) is located directly at the campus of the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) (center and right in the picture) in Klosterneuburg, just outside the Austrian capital Vienna.

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© ISTA | Anna Stöcher

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1 in 12 experience threats or violence at work in the UK, finds study

City St George’s, University of London

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1 in 12 workers experienced threats, insults or physical attacks in the workplace in the past year, according to a new study.

The research was co-authored by Dr Vanessa Gash (City St George’s, University of London) and Dr Niels Blom (University of Manchester), and found that violence and threats in the workplace are much more prevalent than previously thought:

• Workplace violence was found in all industries examined, from finance to construction to the arts
• 1 in 13 employees reported feeling unsafe at work
• Violence & fear in the workplace were linked to workers developing anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder
• Workers continued to experience symptoms of poor mental health even a year after a violent incident.

Workers in public administration and facilities – for instance civil servants, firemen, police officers, legal assistants, immigration officers – had the highest risks of workplace violence.

People who had experienced workplace violence told the researchers they felt current statistics are only “the tip of the iceberg”.

They noted it was easier to report physical violence compared to insidious bullying, which was harder to prove.

Proper support after a violent incident was lacking, with some workers reporting their managers dismissed their claims or responded with annoyance or upset.

As most people are unable to simply leave their jobs, this dynamic of feeling trapped in a violent workplace only heightened their distress.

To overcome the issue, the researchers called for trauma-informed workplace policies that are geared towards job retention.

Tackling the issue could also boost the UK’s sluggish economy, as many are out of work due to poor mental health.

Dr Vanessa Gash said:

“Violence in the workplace is more prevalent than we realised. Around 5% of people in the vast majority of industrial sectors experience workplace violence.

 “7.7% of people in the UK feel unsafe at work. Often people dismiss fear, but our analysis shows a close fit between employees’ exposure to violence and their fear of violence, so their fear is often justified.

“The idea that you'd have to go into work and be scared at work is really, very problematic.

“Most of us can avoid what we are scared of, we can avoid walking alone at night, but we can’t avoid going to work. Most of us need a job to pay our rent and our other expenses.

“Not only is workplace violence extremely unjust, but it is also extremely inefficient for the economy because we risk losing really good workers.”

Dr Niels Blom added:

“Given the strong association between feeling unsafe at work and mental health, fear of workplace violence needs to be better recognised as a significant problem for workers alongside violence.”

The research was carried out with statistical analysis of data from the United Kingdom Household Panel Study (UKHLS), a nationally representative survey of approximately 40,000 households with mental health indicators, labour market status and violence indicators.

Their statistical analysis was supplemented with insights from workers with lived experience of workplace violence.

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DOI

10.5271/sjweh.4230 

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Workplace violence and fear of violence: an assessment of prevalence across industrial sectors and its mental health effects

Women who work nightshifts are more likely to have asthma

European Respiratory Society

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Women who work night shifts are more likely to suffer with moderate or severe asthma compared to women who work in the daytime, according to a study published today (Monday) in ERJ Open Research [1].

 

The research, which included more than 270,000 people, found no such link between asthma and working nightshifts in men.

 

The study was by Dr Robert Maidstone from the University of Manchester, UK, and colleagues. He said: “Asthma disproportionately affects women. Women generally have more severe asthma, and higher rate of hospitalisation and death from asthma compared to men.

 

“In our previous research we found a higher risk of moderate or severe asthma in nightshift workers, so we wanted to see whether there were further differences between the sexes.”

 

The researchers used data from the UK Biobank. They included a total of 274,541 working people and found that 5.3% of these had asthma, with 1.9% suffering with moderate or severe asthma (meaning they were taking an asthma preventer inhaler and at least one other asthma treatment, such as an oral steroid). They categorised these people according to whether they worked only during the day, only nightshifts, or a combination of the two.

 

Their analysis revealed that, overall, women who work shifts are more likely to have asthma. Women who only work nightshifts are around 50% more likely to suffer with moderate or severe asthma compared to women who only work in the daytime.

 

The risk of asthma in men did not alter according to whether they worked days or nights.

 

Dr Maidstone said: “This is the first study to evaluate sex differences in the relationship between shift work and asthma. We found that permanent night shift-workers had higher odds of moderate-severe asthma when compared to corresponding day workers.

 

“This type of research cannot explain why shift work and asthma are linked; however, it could be because shift work disrupts the body clock, including the levels of male and female sex hormones. High testosterone has previously been shown to be protective against asthma, and so lower testosterone in women could play a role. Alternatively, men and women work different types of shift jobs, and this could be a factor.”

 

In postmenopausal women, the risk of moderate or severe asthma was almost doubled in night workers, compared to day workers, in those not taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

 

Dr Maidstone added: “Our results suggest that HRT might be protective against asthma for nightshift workers, however further research is needed to test this hypothesis in prospective studies and randomised controlled trials.”

 

The researchers plan to study whether sex hormones play a role in the relationship between shift work and asthma by using data from the UK Biobank and from Our Future Health, a new health research programme in the UK population.

 

Professor Florence Schleich from the European Respiratory Society’s expert group on airway diseases, asthma, COPD and chronic cough, based at the University of Liège, Belgium, and was not involved in the research. She said: “Asthma is a common, long- term condition that affects millions of people worldwide. We know that women are more likely to have asthma, to have worse asthma and more likely to die from asthma, but we do not fully understand why.

 

“This research suggests that working nightshifts could be a risk factor for asthma in women, but not in men. The majority of workers will not have an easy option of switching their shift pattern, so we need further research to verify and understand this link and find out what could be done to reduce the risk for women who work shifts.”

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Journal

ERJ Open Research

DOI

10.1183/23120541.00137-2025 

Method of Research

Observational study

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Increased risk of asthma in female night shift workers

Article Publication Date

16-Jun-2025

COI Statement

RJM, DWR, JL and HJD report no conflicts of interest. JB is a part time employee of Novo Nordisk Research Centre Oxford, limited. MKR reports receiving consultancy fees from Eli Lilly and has modest stock holding in GSK unrelated to the submitted work.

Reviewing Roses for Gramsci: An Inspiration for Generations

Seth Sandronsky
June 13, 2025



Cover art for the by Roses for Gramsci by Andy Merrifield

Antonio Gramsci, imprisoned under the fascist Italian dictator Mussolini between World Wars 1 and 2, would have understood the popular appeal of President Donald J. Trump, a domineering figure striving to bring the cultural and political apparatus of the U.S. under his MAGA control. Andy Merrifield’s new book, Roses for Gramsci (Monthly Review Press, 2025), blends a nuanced personal and political portrait of the late Sardinian activist and author that seamlessly blends his cultural and theoretical significance. There is much to reflect on and savor in eight chapters.

In crisp and lyrical prose, Merrifield shows and tells how he ended up spending time tending to the gravesite of Gramsci in Rome’s Non-Catholic Cemetery. This experience launches a journey to amplify the salience and significance of a major figure of resilience and resistance to oppression. From Gramsci’s sickly childhood to his entry into economics and politics, Merrifield fleshes out the relevant actors and factors shaping that development.

Gramsci, one of six children of a hard-working single mother, endured no small measure of scorn for his diminutive stature from peers. The roots of his resilience to such hurtful mistreatment began to grow. I took from Merrifield that Gramsci developed his patience from her, a strength of character that helped him to survive an 11-year prison sentence for violating public security. She was his emotional rock.

While imprisoned, Gramsci authored his famous Prison Notebooks, a classic of revolutionary thought, for which Merrifield provides context, including the intellectual influence of Gramsci’s friend Piero Sraffa, the Marxist economist and pal of John Maynard Keynes. Sraffa, along with Tatiana Schucht, Gramsci’s sister-in-law, was a link to society outside prison walls.

A strand of Marxism ignores the late German’s earlier work and, in my view, also misinterprets parts of Capital, his magnum opus. On that note, Gramsci’s idea of cultural hegemony, or how the ruling ideas dominate a society, builds on Marx’s notion of false consciousness, which does flow from the ways in which the prices of commodities disappear the human labor contained in them. In Gramsci’s perspective, workers’ culture, past and current practices of laboring and living are also factors in their attraction to powerful authority. It is a complex mix.

Ruling class ideas prevail in social institutions such as the church, press and schools. With rare exceptions, indoctrination rather than education rules this roost of the status quo. As a U.S. citizen coming of age decades ago during the Vietnam War, I learned in school how Uncle Sam supports democracy globally. The reality is quite different, then and now. Take as a current case in point American funding of Israel’s murdering and starving of Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Social media, a technology absent in Gramsci’s time, is a means to combat cultural hegemony.

Merrifield sheds light on Gramsci’s coining of the term “subaltern” to describe the indigenous inhabitants of imperial colonies. As a communist, he was an internationalist. Gramsci was a realist, writing about the “Southern Question” in Italy. The country’s southern region majors in agriculture, with a population less civilized, according to bigoted thinking. Ruling interests can and do exploit such differences for reasons of social control, e.g., capital’s exploitation of labor.

The historical case of the American South and its legacy as the center of slaveholding and the Confederacy’s Lost Cause resonates as Red State support for Trump now, though opposition does exist to that political order. Mobilizing white workers under economic attack to fear and hate non-white laborers is a key feature of fascist rule. A cultural strategy of divide and conquer has a history in the U.S. and takes the form of patriarchy and white supremacy.

The legacy of Gramsci speaks volumes. Merrifield introduces us to the people from around the world and all walks of life who pay their respects to the Sardinian original, leaving heartfelt notes and roses at his final resting place. Merrifield wraps up his book detailing the ebbs and flows of a flight and drive to Sardinia, culminating in ruminations on what Gramsci’s life might have been like if he had been free from imprisonment to reunite with family and friends and to pursue preferred activities such as strolling around the countryside.

The author’s black and white photographs throughout Roses for Gramsci bring a unique visual dimension to the book. A table of contents and index would help readers to better navigate Merrifield literary ode to Gramsci. He is a thinker for our time, with a personal history that helps us to understand his life of principled resistance to tyranny.


Seth Sandronsky is a Sacramento journalist and member of the freelancers unit of the Pacific Media Workers Guild. Email sethsandronsky@gmail.com