title: Communication between Brain Areas Based on Nested Oscillations.
abstract: Unraveling how brain regions communicate is crucial for understanding how the brain processes external and internal information. Neuronal oscillations within and across brain regions have been proposed to play a crucial role in this process. Two main hypotheses have been suggested for routing of information based on oscillations, namely communication through coherence and gating by inhibition. Here, we propose a framework unifying these two hypotheses that is based on recent empirical findings. We discuss a theory in which communication between two regions is established by phase synchronization of oscillations at lower frequencies (<25 Hz), which serve as temporal reference frame for information carried by high-frequency activity (>40 Hz). Our framework, consistent with numerous recent empirical findings, posits that cross-frequency interactions are essential for understanding how large-scale cognitive and perceptual networks operate.
authors.affiliation: Donders Institute, Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University, 6525 Nijmegen, Netherlands; Lyon Neuroscience Research Center (CRNL), Brain Dynamics and Cognition Team, INSERM U1028, CNRS UMR5292, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, UdL, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Mathilde
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bonnefond
authors.affiliation: Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Department of Psychology, Princeton University , Princeton, New Jersey 08544.
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kastner
authors.affiliation: University of Birmingham, School of Psychology, Centre for Human Brain Health, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
authors.forename: Ole
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-0324-605X
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Jensen
mesh_terms: D000513:Alpha Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D003344:Cortical Synchronization / Q000502:physiology; D025461:Feedback, Physiological; D065818:Gamma Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology; D012438:Saccades / Q000502:physiology; D013826:Theta Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: alpha; brain communication; cross-frequency coupling; gamma; slow oscillations; theta