The Neurophysiology of Binding and Retrieval in Action Control and Its Alterations in Tourette Syndrome
Abstract
Goal-directed behavior requires that perception and action are bound together and coordinated so that what we perceive can be translated into appropriate actions. The Binding and Retrieval in Action Control (BRAC) framework describes this process as a dynamic interplay between two complementary operations: binding and retrieval. Understanding the neurophysiology of these processes has become a central aspect of cognitive neuroscience. Recent evidence links them to the rhythmic synchronization of neural activity - oscillations in the theta, alpha, and beta frequency ranges - that coordinate distributed cortical and subcortical networks. These oscillations provide a temporal code that allows the brain to integrate information across space and time while flexibly reconfiguring internal representations. The second part of this chapter applies the BRAC framework to Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (GTS). Traditionally viewed as a motor-inhibition disorder, GTS is increasingly recognized as a condition of altered perception-action integration. Empirical findings reveal that event-file bindings in GTS are excessively strong or unstable and that the oscillatory coordination underlying their regulation is disturbed. By tracing the links between rhythmic neural dynamics and behavioral control, BRAC offers a mechanistic bridge between basic neurophysiology and the clinical phenomenology of tics.
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BibTeX
@misc{beste2026neurophysiology,
title = {{The Neurophysiology of Binding and Retrieval in Action Control and Its Alterations in Tourette Syndrome}},
author = {Christian Beste and Christian Frings and Alexander Munchau},
howpublished = {PsyArXiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.31234/osf.io/927xf_v1},
url = {https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/927xf_v1/},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - The Neurophysiology of Binding and Retrieval in Action Control and Its Alterations in Tourette Syndrome
AU - Christian Beste
AU - Christian Frings
AU - Alexander Munchau
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/25
PB - PsyArXiv
DO - 10.31234/osf.io/927xf_v1
UR - https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/927xf_v1/
AB - Goal-directed behavior requires that perception and action are bound together and coordinated so that what we perceive can be translated into appropriate actions. The Binding and Retrieval in Action Control (BRAC) framework describes this process as a dynamic interplay between two complementary operations: binding and retrieval. Understanding the neurophysiology of these processes has become a central aspect of cognitive neuroscience. Recent evidence links them to the rhythmic synchronization of neural activity - oscillations in the theta, alpha, and beta frequency ranges - that coordinate distributed cortical and subcortical networks. These oscillations provide a temporal code that allows the brain to integrate information across space and time while flexibly reconfiguring internal representations. The second part of this chapter applies the BRAC framework to Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (GTS). Traditionally viewed as a motor-inhibition disorder, GTS is increasingly recognized as a condition of altered perception-action integration. Empirical findings reveal that event-file bindings in GTS are excessively strong or unstable and that the oscillatory coordination underlying their regulation is disturbed. By tracing the links between rhythmic neural dynamics and behavioral control, BRAC offers a mechanistic bridge between basic neurophysiology and the clinical phenomenology of tics.
ER -