The brain encodes short-term visual memory with in-sync electrical neural oscillations.

Neuroscientists have observed how distinct patterns of neural oscillation occur in monkeys when they see different objects.

Two regions of the brain are involved – the prefrontal cortex and posterior parietal cortex – and the amount of synchronisation of neural oscillation between these two regions varies. These variations appear to distinguish between the type of object is as well as it’s location.

Researchers previously believed these functions were controlled by the firing rate of neurons.