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Neurodegenerative disorders

Neural synchronization in Alzheimer's disease

Nature volume 540, pages 207–208 (2016)Cite this article

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Electrical oscillations generated by neural circuits are disrupted in Alzheimer's disease. Restoring these oscillations in mouse models activates immune cells to clear disease-associated amyloid-β protein from the brain. See Article p.230

An intriguing feature of the brain is its generation of electrical oscillations through the synchronized activity of networks of neurons. The frequencies of such brain rhythms can span several orders of magnitude, from slow oscillations in the delta (0.5–3 hertz) range to gamma (30–90 Hz) and ultrafast (90–200 Hz) ranges. These rhythms have been implicated in fundamental neural processes, such as attention, sensory perception, learning and memory1. Moreover, disruption of gamma oscillations has been observed in several neurological conditions, including brain trauma, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease2. On page 230, Iaccarino et al.3 present evidence in mice that disruption of gamma oscillations might contribute to the accumulation of amyloid-β protein in the brain — a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.

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Figure 1: Gamma oscillations stimulate the clearance of amyloid-β protein deposits.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Liviu Aron and Bruce A. Yankner are in the Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.,

    Liviu Aron & Bruce A. Yankner

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  1. Liviu Aron
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  2. Bruce A. Yankner
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Correspondence to Bruce A. Yankner.

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Aron, L., Yankner, B. Neural synchronization in Alzheimer's disease. Nature 540, 207–208 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/540207a

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