Dopamine Receptors Influence Internally Generated Oscillations during Rule Processing in Primate Prefrontal Cortex

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 770-784 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torben Ott ◽  
Stephanie Westendorff ◽  
Andreas Nieder
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Gamma Oscillations ◽  
Neural Oscillations ◽  
Field Potentials ◽  
Attentional Processing ◽  
Sensory Evoked Potentials ◽  
Distinct Frequency ◽  
Sensory Evoked

Neural oscillations in distinct frequency bands in the prefrontal cortex (pFC) are associated with specialized roles during cognitive control. How dopamine modulates oscillations to structure pFC functions remains unknown. We trained macaques to switch between two numerical rules and recorded local field potentials from pFC while applying dopamine receptor targeting drugs using microiontophoresis. We show that the D1 and D2 family receptors (D1Rs and D2Rs, respectively) specifically altered internally generated prefrontal oscillations, whereas sensory-evoked potentials remained unchanged. Blocking D1Rs or stimulating D2Rs increased low-frequency theta and alpha oscillations known to be involved in learning and memory. In contrast, only D1R inhibition enhanced high-frequency beta oscillations, whereas only D2R stimulation increased gamma oscillations linked to top–down and bottom–up attentional processing. These findings suggest that dopamine alters neural oscillations relevant for executive functioning through dissociable actions at the receptor level.

scholarly journals Both ongoing alpha and visually induced gamma oscillations show reliable diversity in their across-site phase-relations

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (5) ◽  
pp. 1556-1563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Freek van Ede ◽  
Stan van Pelt ◽  
Pascal Fries ◽  
Eric Maris
Keyword(s):  
Phase Relation ◽  
Visual Stimulation ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Gamma Oscillations ◽  
Phase Relations ◽  
Neural Oscillations ◽  
High Signal ◽  
Noninvasive Methods ◽  
Healthy Human ◽  
Systems Neuroscience

Neural oscillations have emerged as one of the major electrophysiological phenomena investigated in cognitive and systems neuroscience. These oscillations are typically studied with regard to their amplitude, phase, and/or phase coupling. Here we demonstrate the existence of another property that is intrinsic to neural oscillations but has hitherto remained largely unexplored in cognitive and systems neuroscience. This pertains to the notion that these oscillations show reliable diversity in their phase-relations between neighboring recording sites (phase-relation diversity). In contrast to most previous work, we demonstrate that this diversity is restricted neither to low-frequency oscillations nor to periods outside of sensory stimulation. On the basis of magnetoencephalographic (MEG) recordings in humans, we show that this diversity is prominent not only for ongoing alpha oscillations (8–12 Hz) but also for gamma oscillations (50–70 Hz) that are induced by sustained visual stimulation. We further show that this diversity provides a dimension within electrophysiological data that, provided a sufficiently high signal-to-noise ratio, does not covary with changes in amplitude. These observations place phase-relation diversity on the map as a prominent and general property of neural oscillations that, moreover, can be studied with noninvasive methods in healthy human volunteers. This opens important new avenues for investigating how neural oscillations contribute to the neural implementation of cognition and behavior.

scholarly journals High-frequency neural activity predicts word parsing in ambiguous speech streams

2016 ◽  
Vol 116 (6) ◽  
pp. 2497-2512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Kösem ◽  
Anahita Basirat ◽  
Leila Azizi ◽  
Virginie van Wassenhove
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Properties ◽  
Neural Oscillations ◽  
Speech Comprehension ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Linguistic Representations ◽  
High Frequency Activity ◽  
Speech Percept ◽  
The Brain

During speech listening, the brain parses a continuous acoustic stream of information into computational units (e.g., syllables or words) necessary for speech comprehension. Recent neuroscientific hypotheses have proposed that neural oscillations contribute to speech parsing, but whether they do so on the basis of acoustic cues (bottom-up acoustic parsing) or as a function of available linguistic representations (top-down linguistic parsing) is unknown. In this magnetoencephalography study, we contrasted acoustic and linguistic parsing using bistable speech sequences. While listening to the speech sequences, participants were asked to maintain one of the two possible speech percepts through volitional control. We predicted that the tracking of speech dynamics by neural oscillations would not only follow the acoustic properties but also shift in time according to the participant's conscious speech percept. Our results show that the latency of high-frequency activity (specifically, beta and gamma bands) varied as a function of the perceptual report. In contrast, the phase of low-frequency oscillations was not strongly affected by top-down control. Whereas changes in low-frequency neural oscillations were compatible with the encoding of prelexical segmentation cues, high-frequency activity specifically informed on an individual's conscious speech percept.

scholarly journals Different Coupling Modes Mediate Cortical Cross-Frequency Interactions

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randolph F Helfrich ◽  
Christoph S Herrmann ◽  
Andreas K Engel ◽  
Till R Schneider
Keyword(s):  
Information Integration ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Gamma Oscillations ◽  
Frequency Component ◽  
High Frequency Component ◽  
Alpha Power ◽  
Alpha Oscillation ◽  
Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation

Cross-frequency coupling (CFC) has been suggested to constitute a highly flexible mechanism for cortical information gating and processing, giving rise to conscious perception and various higher cognitive functions in humans. In particular, it might provide an elegant tool for information integration across several spatiotemporal scales within nested or coupled neuronal networks. However, it is currently unknown whether low frequency (theta/alpha) or high frequency gamma oscillations orchestrate cross-frequency interactions, raising the question of who is master and who is slave. While correlative evidence suggested that at least two distinct CFC modes exist, namely phase-amplitude-coupling (PAC) and amplitude-envelope-correlations (AEC), it is currently unknown whether they subserve distinct cortical functions. Novel non-invasive brain stimulation tools, such as transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), now provide the unique opportunity to selectively entrain the low or high frequency component and study subsequent effects on CFC. Here, we demonstrate the differential modulation of CFC during selective entrainment of alpha or gamma oscillations. Our results reveal that entrainment of the low frequency component increased PAC, where gamma power became preferentially locked to the trough of the alpha oscillation, while gamma-band entrainment reduced alpha power through enhanced AECs. These results provide causal evidence for the functional role of coupled alpha and gamma oscillations for visual processing.

scholarly journals Theta–gamma coordination between anterior cingulate and prefrontal cortex indexes correct attention shifts

2015 ◽  
Vol 112 (27) ◽  
pp. 8457-8462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Voloh ◽  
Taufik A. Valiante ◽  
Stefan Everling ◽  
Thilo Womelsdorf
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Irrelevant Information ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Gamma Activity ◽  
Phase Reset ◽  
Amplitude Correlation ◽  
Phase Amplitude ◽  
Attention Shifts

Anterior cingulate and lateral prefrontal cortex (ACC/PFC) are believed to coordinate activity to flexibly prioritize the processing of goal-relevant over irrelevant information. This between-area coordination may be realized by common low-frequency excitability changes synchronizing segregated high-frequency activations. We tested this coordination hypothesis by recording in macaque ACC/PFC during the covert utilization of attention cues. We found robust increases of 5–10 Hz (theta) to 35–55 Hz (gamma) phase–amplitude correlation between ACC and PFC during successful attention shifts but not before errors. Cortical sites providing theta phases (i) showed a prominent cue-induced phase reset, (ii) were more likely in ACC than PFC, and (iii) hosted neurons with burst firing events that synchronized to distant gamma activity. These findings suggest that interareal theta–gamma correlations could follow mechanistically from a cue-triggered reactivation of rule memory that synchronizes theta across ACC/PFC.

scholarly journals Preservation and changes in oscillatory dynamics across the cortical hierarchy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikael Lundqvist ◽  
André M. Bastos ◽  
Earl K. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Local Field ◽  
Gamma Oscillations ◽  
Field Potentials ◽  
Phase Coupling ◽  
Oscillatory Dynamics ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Gamma Frequency ◽  
Cortical Hierarchy ◽  
Alpha Beta

AbstractTheta (2-8 Hz), Alpha (8-12 Hz), beta (12-35 Hz) and gamma (>35 Hz) rhythms are ubiquitous in cortex. But there is little understanding of whether they have similar properties and functions in different cortical areas because they have rarely been compared across them. We record neuronal spikes and local field potentials simultaneously at several levels of the cortical hierarchy in monkeys. Theta, alpha, beta and gamma oscillations had similar relationships to spiking activity in visual, parietal and prefrontal cortex. However, the frequencies in all bands increased up the cortical hierarchy. These results suggest that these rhythms have similar functions inhibitory and excitatory across cortex. We discuss how the increase in frequencies up the cortical hierachy may help sculpt cortical flow and processing.Significance statementPhase-coupling in alpha/beta and gamma frequency ranges between cortical areas is often viewed as a means to shape brain-wide communication. However, systematic frequency differences between communicating areas are typically not considered, but equally important. Here we show that alpha/beta and gamma oscillations are of systematically higher frequency ascending the cortical hierarchy. This presents a fresh view on a widely studied topic. It has important implications in shaping cortical communication and helps explain widely observed phenomena.

scholarly journals Delineation of a frequency-organized region isolated from the mouse primary auditory cortex

2015 ◽  
Vol 113 (7) ◽  
pp. 2900-2920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroaki Tsukano ◽  
Masao Horie ◽  
Takeshi Bo ◽  
Arikuni Uchimura ◽  
Ryuichi Hishida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Medial Geniculate Body ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Medial Geniculate ◽  
Distinct Frequency ◽  
Nonpyramidal Neurons ◽  
Frequency Area

The primary auditory cortex (AI) is the representative recipient of information from the ears in the mammalian cortex. However, the delineation of the AI is still controversial in a mouse. Recently, it was reported, using optical imaging, that two distinct areas of the AI, located ventrally and dorsally, are activated by high-frequency tones, whereas only one area is activated by low-frequency tones. Here, we show that the dorsal high-frequency area is an independent region that is separated from the rest of the AI. We could visualize the two distinct high-frequency areas using flavoprotein fluorescence imaging, as reported previously. SMI-32 immunolabeling revealed that the dorsal region had a different cytoarchitectural pattern from the rest of the AI. Specifically, the ratio of SMI-32-positive pyramidal neurons to nonpyramidal neurons was larger in the dorsal high-frequency area than the rest of the AI. We named this new region the dorsomedial field (DM). Retrograde tracing showed that neurons projecting to the DM were localized in the rostral part of the ventral division of the medial geniculate body with a distinct frequency organization, where few neurons projected to the AI. Furthermore, the responses of the DM to ultrasonic courtship songs presented by males were significantly greater in females than in males; in contrast, there was no sex difference in response to artificial pure tones. Our findings offer a basic outline on the processing of ultrasonic vocal information on the basis of the precisely subdivided, multiple frequency-organized auditory cortex map in mice.

scholarly journals Functional near-infrared spectroscopy can detect low-frequency hemodynamic oscillations in the prefrontal cortex during steady-state visual evoked potential-inducing periodic facial expression stimuli presentation

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng-Yun Wang ◽  
Anzhe Yuan ◽  
Juan Zhang ◽  
Yutao Xiang ◽  
Zhen Yuan
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Steady State ◽  
Facial Expression ◽  
Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Visual Evoked

AbstractBrain oscillations are vital to cognitive functions, while disrupted oscillatory activity is linked to various brain disorders. Although high-frequency neural oscillations (> 1 Hz) have been extensively studied in cognition, the neural mechanisms underlying low-frequency hemodynamic oscillations (LFHO) < 1 Hz have not yet been fully explored. One way to examine oscillatory neural dynamics is to use a facial expression (FE) paradigm to induce steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs), which has been used in electroencephalography studies of high-frequency brain oscillation activity. In this study, LFHO during SSVEP-inducing periodic flickering stimuli presentation were inspected using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), in which hemodynamic responses in the prefrontal cortex were recorded while participants were passively viewing dynamic FEs flickering at 0.2 Hz. The fast Fourier analysis results demonstrated that the power exhibited monochronic peaks at 0.2 Hz across all channels, indicating that the periodic events successfully elicited LFHO in the prefrontal cortex. More importantly, measurement of LFHO can effectively distinguish the brain activation difference between different cognitive conditions, with happy FE presentation showing greater LFHO power than neutral FE presentation. These results demonstrate that stimuli flashing at a given frequency can induce LFHO in the prefrontal cortex, which provides new insights into the cognitive mechanisms involved in slow oscillation.

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