The human brain doesn't run a single unified process. Instead, it coordinates multiple, asynchronous streams of information processing in parallel, according to a new study that used simultaneous EEG and fMRI recordings.
The Research
Researchers led by postdoctoral researcher Suhnyoung Jun at the Beckman Institute's CONNECTlab recorded EEG and fMRI data at the same time in healthy participants. For years, scientists assumed fMRI—which tracks slow blood flow changes—captured the same brain activity as EEG, just at a slower pace. The new data proved otherwise.
“We found the brain isn’t running a single process,” said Jun, co-first author of the study published in July 2026. “It runs many distinct coordinated processes at the same time.” These separate streams unfold independently, each with its own timing. The team spent nearly five years developing safety protocols and algorithms to clean the severe artifacts from recording EEG inside an MRI machine.
Remarkably, these parallel streams are built from the same spatial brain networks and unfold in the same order—yet they operate completely asynchronously. Jun compares it to language processing: “The brain tracks the rapid flicker of individual sounds, the slower arrival of words, and the still slower thread of meaning all at once, each on its own stream.”
Why It Matters
This finding reshapes how we think about cognition. “It means your brain is juggling multiple independent timelines simultaneously,” explains Sepideh Sadaghiani, senior author. For anyone curious about their own thinking, this explains why you can process fast sensory details while following a conversation’s overall meaning—they’re separate streams.
Importantly, the study validates standalone EEG as a powerful clinical tool. Low-cost EEG captures unique connectome data independent of fMRI, making advanced brain diagnostics accessible to clinics without MRI scanners and to patients with metal implants or claustrophobia. The discovery also offers a new template to study neurological and psychiatric conditions—like dementia or autoimmune disorders—that may disrupt the brain’s timing networks.
What You Can Do
Understanding your brain’s parallel streams can improve how you learn and focus. Practice tasks that require both fast reaction and slow comprehension—like learning a new language or playing a musical instrument—to exercise multiple streams simultaneously. Even simple brain training games that mix speed and strategy may help coordinate these parallel processes.
Source: Neuroscience News
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