title: Diverse Phase Relations among Neuronal Rhythms and Their Potential Function.
abstract: Neuronal oscillations at nearby sites in the brain often show phase relations that are consistent across time, yet diverse across space. We discuss recent demonstrations of this phase relation diversity, and show that, contrary to earlier beliefs, this diversity is a general property of oscillations that is neither restricted to low-frequency oscillations nor to periods outside of stimulus processing. Arguing for the computational relevance of phase relation diversity, we discuss that it can be modulated by sensory and motor events, and put forward the idea that phase relation diversity may support effective neuronal communication by (i) enhancing selectivity and (ii) allowing for the concurrent segregation of multiple information streams.
authors.affiliation: Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, 6525 EZ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: e.maris@donders.ru.n.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Maris
authors.affiliation: Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, 6525 EZ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Ernst Strüngmann Institute (ESI) for Neuroscience in Cooperation with Max Planck Society, 60528, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fries
authors.affiliation: Radboud University, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, 6525 EZ, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Oxford Centre for Human Brain Activity, Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, OX3 7JX, Oxford, UK.
authors.forename: Freek
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: van Ede
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D058256:Brain Waves / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: correlated neuronal activity; neuronal oscillations; phase relations; selective neuronal communication; travelling waves