title: Intrinsic coupling modes reveal the functional architecture of cortico-tectal networks.
abstract: In the absence of sensory stimulation or motor output, the brain exhibits complex spatiotemporal patterns of intrinsically generated neural activity. Analysis of ongoing brain dynamics has identified the prevailing modes of cortico-cortical interaction; however, little is known about how such patterns of intrinsically generated activity are correlated between cortical and subcortical brain areas. We investigate the correlation structure of ongoing cortical and superior colliculus (SC) activity across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Ongoing cortico-tectal interaction was characterized by correlated fluctuations in the amplitude of delta, spindle, low gamma, and high-frequency oscillations (>100 Hz). Of these identified coupling modes, topographical patterns of high-frequency coupling were the most consistent with patterns of anatomical connectivity, reflecting synchronized spiking within cortico-tectal networks. Cortico-tectal coupling at high frequencies was temporally parcellated by the phase of slow cortical oscillations and was strongest for SC-cortex channel pairs that displayed overlapping visual spatial receptive fields. Despite displaying a high degree of spatial specificity, cortico-tectal coupling in lower-frequency bands did not match patterns of cortex-to-SC anatomical connectivity. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that neural activity is spontaneously coupled between cortex and SC, with high- and low-frequency modes of coupling reflecting direct and indirect cortico-tectal interactions, respectively.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Iain
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stitt
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Edgar
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Galindo-Leon
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pieper
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Engler
authors.affiliation: Department of Microsystems Engineering, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fiedler
authors.affiliation: Department of Microsystems Engineering, University of Freiburg, 79110 Freiburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stieglitz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Engel
keywords: corticotectal; high gamma; ongoing neural dynamics; oscillations; superior colliculus