Neuroscientists at the Salk Institute have proposed that neural traveling waves in the visual cortex function as a vital computational engine for processing environmental information. These electrical waves allow the brain to construct internal models of the external world, enabling several critical functions such as modulating perception, converting sensory inputs into mental representations, generating short-term predictions about surroundings, and replaying patterns related to memories. This biological mechanism is conceptually similar to how large language models learn statistical structures from data to generate meaningful outputs; however, the brain builds its generative model through direct experience with the physical world.
