Effect of Synaptic Connectivity on Long-Range Synchronization of Fast Cortical Oscillations

• Published in: Journal of neurophysiology Vol. 100; no. 3; pp. 1562 - 1575
• Main Authors: Bazhenov, M, Rulkov, N. F, Timofeev, I
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Am Phys Soc 01.09.2008; American Physiological Society
• Subjects: Action Potentials - physiology; Animals; Cats; Cerebral Cortex - cytology; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; Cortical Synchronization; Models, Neurological; Nerve Net - physiology; Neural Inhibition - physiology; Neural Networks (Computer); Pyramidal Cells - physiology; Synapses - physiology
• ISSN: 0022-3077; 1522-1598
• DOI: 10.1152/jn.90613.2008

1 Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California; 2 The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California; 3 Institute for Nonlinear Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California; 4 Information Systems Laboratories, San Diego, California; and 5 Department of Anatomy and Physiology, Laval University, Centre de Recherche Université Laval Robert-Giffard, Québec, Quebec, Canada Submitted 27 May 2008; accepted in final form 9 July 2008 Cortical gamma oscillations in the 20- to 80-Hz range are associated with attentiveness and sensory perception and have strong connections to both cognitive processing and temporal binding of sensory stimuli. These gamma oscillations become synchronized within a few milliseconds over distances spanning a few millimeters in spite of synaptic delays. In this study using in vivo recordings and large-scale cortical network models, we reveal a critical role played by the network geometry in achieving precise long-range synchronization in the gamma frequency band. Our results indicate that the presence of many independent synaptic pathways in a two-dimensional network facilitate precise phase synchronization of fast gamma band oscillations with nearly zero phase delays between remote network sites. These findings predict a common mechanism of precise oscillatory synchronization in neuronal networks. Address for reprint requests and other correspondence: M. Bazhenov, Dept. of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521 (E-mail: Maksim.Bazhenov{at}ucr.edu )