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What does gamma coherence tell us about inter-regional neural communication?

Nature Neuroscience volume 18, pages 484–489 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Neural oscillations have been measured and interpreted in multitudinous ways, with a variety of hypothesized functions in physiology, information processing and cognition. Much attention has been paid in recent years to gamma-band (30–100 Hz) oscillations and synchrony, with an increasing interest in 'high gamma' (>100 Hz) signals as mesoscopic measures of inter-regional communication. The biophysical origins of the measured variables are often difficult to precisely identify, however, making their interpretation fraught with pitfalls. Here we discuss how measurements of inter-regional gamma coherence can be prone to misinterpretation and suggest strategies for deciphering the roles that synchronized oscillations across brain networks may play in neural function.

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Figure 1: An idealized experimental layout to identify communication by gamma frequency coupling within and across networks.

Katie Vicari/Nature Publishing Group

Figure 2: Fast synaptic patterns delivered to the dendrites may not propagate to the soma.
Figure 3: Dendritic target domains are characterized by gamma coherence.
Figure 4: The origins of gamma LFP patterns can be revealed with simultaneous multisite recordings of LFP and spiking activity.
Figure 5: Interhemispheric, zero-phase-lag coherence of gamma oscillations.

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Acknowledgements

We thank A. Fernández-Ruiz, K. Mizuseki, A. Berenyi and members of the Buzsáki laboratory for discussions and feedback. This work was supported by US National Institutes of Health grants (MH54671, MH102840), the Mather's Foundation, The Human Frontier Science Program and the US National Science Foundation (Temporal Dynamics of Learning Center Grant SBE 0542013).

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  1. The Neuroscience Institute, New York University, School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

    György Buzsáki & Erik W Schomburg

  2. Center for Neural Science, New York University, School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA

    György Buzsáki

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Correspondence to György Buzsáki.

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Buzsáki, G., Schomburg, E. What does gamma coherence tell us about inter-regional neural communication?. Nat Neurosci 18, 484–489 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3952

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