There is recent recognition that gamma oscillations in the visual cortical EEG may reveal a phase locking mechanism for the assembly of visual pattern information in the cortex. This is plausible in homology to a similar mechanism known to operate in the paleocortex of the olfactory system. Among the major problems to be solved in exploiting this breakthrough involve determinations of the basic form of the oscillations as the emergent properties of cooperative neural masses in visual cortex; the kinds of neuronal feedback that give rise to the gamma oscillations; the mechanisms for registration of geniculate input into the oscillations; the neural mechanisms required for readout; and the essential role played by periodic or chaotic oscillations in neocortical information management. Answers to these problems in the olfactory system are put forward for possible relevance to the still unsolved problems in visual cortical physiology.