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Modulation of Neuronal Interactions Through Neuronal Synchronization
Thilo Womelsdorf,1*Jan-Mathijs Schoffelen,1*Robert Oostenveld,1Wolf Singer,2,3Robert Desimone,4,5Andreas K. Engel,6Pascal Fries1,7
Brain processing depends on the interactions between neuronalgroups. Those interactions are governed by the pattern of anatomicalconnections and by yet unknown mechanisms that modulate theeffective strength of a given connection. We found that themutual influence among neuronal groups depends on the phaserelation between rhythmic activities within the groups. Phaserelations supporting interactions between the groups precededthose interactions by a few milliseconds, consistent with amechanistic role. These effects were specific in time, frequency,and space, and we therefore propose that the pattern of synchronizationflexibly determines the pattern of neuronal interactions.
1 F. C. Donders Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, Netherlands. 2 Department of Neurophysiology, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany. 3 Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany. 4 Laboratory of Neuropsychology, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. 5 McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. 6 Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany. 7 Department of Biophysics, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EZ Nijmegen, Netherlands.
* These authors contributed equally to this work.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: thilo.womelsdorf{at}fcdonders.ru.nl (T.W.); jan.schoffelen{at}fcdonders.ru.nl (J.-M.S.)
Groups of activated neurons synchronize in the gamma-frequencyband (30 to 100 Hz), and previous studies have related gamma-bandsynchronization to several cognitive functions (16).Yet, if gamma-band synchronization subserves those functions,it must have mechanistic consequences for neuronal processing(7). It has been shown that the precise timing of pre- and postsynapticactivation determines long-term changes in synaptic strength(810) and that gamma-band synchronization of synapticinputs directly enhances their effective synaptic strength (1113).
Synchronization between two groups of neurons is also likelyto facilitate interactions between them (Fig. 1A) (6, 14). Gamma-bandsynchronization entails rhythmic inhibition of the local network(1517), and the periods between inhibition provide temporalwindows for neuronal interaction. Two groups of neurons willtherefore probably have a greater influence on each other whentheir temporal interaction windows open at the same times, i.e.,when the rhythmic synchronization within the groups is alsosynchronized between the groups. By the same token, the interactionis probably curtailed if the temporal interaction windows openeither in an uncorrelated way or consistently out of phase witheach other.
Fig. 1. Precise timing between rhythmic neuronal activities determines the strength of their mutual influence. (A) Sketch of three groups of neurons, each rhythmically active (LFP oscillations with spikes in troughs). Time windows for effective communication are either aligned (red and blue group) or not aligned (red and gray group). (B and C) Average phase-coherence spectrum across all (B) MUA-MUA and (C) MUA-LFP pairs (area 17 data) and corresponding distributions of mean phase relations at 60 Hz. (D) Trialwise phase relations from an example MUA-MUA pair. Phase relations were sorted into bins (light and dark gray ring segments) aligned to the mean phase relation (red line). (E) Spearman rank correlation coefficients between the two MUAs' 60-Hz power as a function of their phase relation. (The solid line indicates a cosine fit.) (F and G) Same as (D) and (E), but with one MUA substituted by the respective LFP. (H and I) Example MUA-LFP pair from the area 17 data set demonstrating that coherence does not necessarily result in phase-relationdependent power correlations. (H) Coherence with a clear peak around 60 Hz. (I) Power correlations as a function of phase relations, showing no consistent relation.
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We analyzed four data sets: (i) one from awake cat area 17,(ii) one combining awake cat area 18 with area 21a recordings,(iii) one from awake monkey are a V1, and (iv) one from monkeyarea V4. [Data from two of the three area 17 data sets havebeen used in (18, 19); the V4 data set has been used in (3,20).] In all cases, we recorded multiunit activity (MUA) andlocal field potentials (LFPs) simultaneously from four to eightelectrodes while the neurons were visually stimulated with movinggratings. From each data set, we used trials with identicalvisual stimulation and behavioral tasks and based our analysison the natural fluctuation of neuronal gamma-band synchronization.For each pair of neuronal groups, we quantified synchronizationby means of the MUA-MUA phase-coherence spectrum (Fig. 1B) andthe MUA-LFP phase-coherence spectrum (Fig. 1C) (21).
Phase-coherence spectra showed a peak in the gamma-frequencyband, indicating that phase relations between signals were notrandom. However, phase coherence was far from perfect (a valueof 1.0), but it assumed average peak values of 0.14 and 0.27for MUA-MUA and MUA-LFP combinations, respectively. The phaserelations at 60 Hz in one example MUA-MUA pair are shown for708 trials of 250-ms length (phase-coherence value of 0.06)(Fig. 1D).
The spread of phase relations around their mean might just beirrelevant noise. Here, however, we used this spread to actuallytest for its potential physiological consequences. We hypothesizedthat the mutual influence between two neuronal groups was afunction of their phase relation (Fig. 1A). Phase relationsare meaningfully defined per frequency, and we hypothesizedthat the phase relation at a given frequency should modulatethe interaction among the local rhythmic activities specificallyat that frequency.
We investigated this hypothesis for the example pair of recordingssites. We sorted the trials into six bins according to the 60-Hzphase relation between the two MUAs (Fig. 1D). For each phase-relationbin separately, we then quantified the two MUAs' mutual influenceas the Spearman rank correlation coefficient between the twoMUAs' 60-Hz power, across the trials in the bin (Fig. 1E). Fluctuationsof 60-Hz power were most strongly correlated when the 60-Hzphase relation was close to its mean across the trials. Specifically,when the gamma-band rhythm in group A led the one in group Bby 2.1 ms (mean phase relation at 45.8°), the correlationbetween each group's gamma-band power was four times as strongas when the rhythms were separated by 10.5 ms (phase relationat 225.8°). The example pair illustrates this for a casewith a nonzero mean phase to demonstrate that the effect cannotbe ascribed to external artifacts or volume conduction, butthe mean phase relations across our sample distributed closelyaround zero (Fig. 1B).
We performed the same analysis after replacing one of the MUAsby the LFP recorded through the same electrode. The mean MUA-LFPphase relations clustered around 141° (Fig. 1C), and powercorrelations were again substantially enhanced around the meanphase relation (Fig. 1, F and G). Across our sample, good phaserelations mostly distributed close to the respective mean phaserelations for both MUA-MUA and MUA-LFP pairs (fig. S1). We correspondinglydubbed the mean phase relation as "good" and the opposite phaserelation as "bad," and we aligned the trial binning to the goodphase relation.
The observed effect was consistent across the four data sets(Fig. 2 and fig. S2) (140, 86, 111, and 111 MUA-MUA pairs fromarea 17, areas 18x21a, area V1, and area V4, respectively, and280, 172, 228, and 237 MUA-LFP pairs from the same areas). MUA-LFPpairs showed qualitatively the same effect as MUA-MUA pairsbut with higher signal-to-noise ratios (Fig. 2B). We thereforefocused our further analyses on MUA-LFP pairs (recorded fromseparate electrodes). The effect was also present for pairsof LFP and single-unit recordings (fig. S3). The effect generalizedto long-range interactions, because the analysis of the dataset combining cat area 18 recordings with area 21a recordingswas restricted to interareal pairs of recording sites (Fig. 2D).
Fig. 2. Phase-relationdependent modulation of power correlations is frequency specific. (A) Average power correlation as a function of phase relation (x axis) and frequency (y axis) for MUA-MUA pairs recorded in cat area 17. (B) Same as (A), but for MUA-LFP pairs. (C) Modulation depth of the cosine function fitted to the phase-relationdependent power correlations. Gray bars indicate significant frequencies (P < 0.05, multiple comparisons corrected). (Right) Average phase-relationdependent power correlation at 60 Hz. (D and E) Same as (C), but for (D) cat area 18x21a and (E) monkey area V1.
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We did not attempt to relate the two signals' power correlationto their coherence, because the coherence measure confoundsphase synchronization and power correlation. In contrast, werelated the correlation between the two signals' power acrosstrials directly to their relative phase. The presence of coherence(Fig. 1H) does not necessarily result in a phase-relationdependentpower correlation (Fig. 1I) and thus, the demonstration of phase-relationdependentpower correlation goes beyond the demonstration of coherence.
One concern is that the effect might be due to rhythmic commoninput that fluctuates in strength across trials. Common inputwould bias phase relations and impose correlated power on bothgroups. Clues about the actual causal chain of events mightbe gained from the relative timing between phase relation, onone hand, and power correlation, on the other hand. If powercorrelation covaried with phase relation because of common input,then there should be no delay between the two. However, if goodphase relations were actually the mechanistic cause of strongpower correlations, then good phase relations should precedestrong power correlations by a few milliseconds, incurred byaxonal, synaptic, and intracellular delays. We therefore compiledtime-resolved estimates of the "goodness" of phase relationsand of the strength of power correlations, and then we determinedthe cross-correlation as a function of time lag between thetwo time series (21). Figure 3 shows this analysis pooled acrossall four data sets and demonstrates that good phase relationspreceded strong power correlations by 5 ms. We observed thistemporal precedence in each of the four data sets. Additionalobservations arguing against a common input explanation aregiven in the supporting online material text.
Fig. 3. Good phase relations precede strong power correlations. (A) Spearman rank correlation coefficient (y axis) between the power correlation and the "goodness" of the phase relation across all MUA-LFP pairs of all data sets for relative time lags (x axis) between 200 and 200 ms. (B) Detail from (A), demonstrating the peak of the cross-correlation function at 5 ms. A latency of the peak outside the gray shaded area is significant at P < 0.05.
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The modulation of two neuronal groups' interaction by theirphase relation would be particularly interesting if it was spatiallyspecific (Fig. 1A). We therefore investigated recording tripletsA, B, and C from three separate electrodes (in which A was anLFP and B and C were MUAs). Figure 4A shows, for one exampletriplet, a scatter plot in which each dot corresponds to onetrial and the x and y values give the "goodness" of the A-Band A-C phase relations, respectively (22). We sorted the trialsaccording to the quadrants of the plot. In quadrants Q1 andQ2, the phase relation between A and B was good, whereas inQ3 and Q4 it was bad. We contrasted the A-B power correlationfor Q1 and Q2 with that for Q3 and Q4 (red line in Fig. 4, B to D).Orthogonally to this, the phase relation between A and C wasgood in Q1 and Q3, whereas it was bad in Q2 and Q4, and we contrastedthe A-B power correlation for Q1 and Q3 with that for Q2 andQ4 (blue line in Fig. 4, B to D). The A-B power correlationdepended significantly more on the A-B phase relation than onthe A-C phase relation. Thus, the effect had a spatial resolutionthat was at least as high as the spatial resolution of our recordings(down to 0.65 mm in the monkey data sets).
Fig. 4. Spatial selectivity of phase-relationdependent power correlation. (A) Scatterplot shows the distribution of trialwise phase relations between groups A and B (y axis) and between groups A and C (x axis) for an example triplet at 60 Hz. Equations define how A-B power correlations from each quadrant were combined for the results shown in (B to D). In the equations, c(ABq) denotes the A-B power correlation across trials in quadrant q (where q is 1, 2, 3, or 4). (B) A-B power correlation as a function of the A-B phase relation [irrespective of the A-C phase relation (red line)] and as a function of the A-C phase relation [irrespective of the A-B phase relation (blue line)]. Gray bars indicate frequencies with significant differences (P < 0.05, multiple comparisons corrected). The y axis denotes the differences in power correlations according to the equators shown in (A). (C and D) Same as (B), but for (C) monkey area V1 and (D) monkey area V4.
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We provided evidence suggesting that neuronal interactions mechanisticallydepend on the phase relation between rhythmic activities. Themost likely reason for this dependence is that rhythmic activitiesmodulate the gain of incoming synaptic input rhythmically. Effectiveconnectivity can thus be maximized or minimized through synchronizationat a good or bad phase relation. The impact of pyramidal cellscould be enhanced, for example, if their firing phase relativeto interneurons were advanced (15, 23, 24) or if interneuronalfiring were delayed through inhibition or reduced excitation(25). Such mechanisms might be invoked directly by cognitivetop-down control.
Effective connectivity would diminish when synchronization isless precise, because then synaptic input is more likely toarrive at random phases. This mechanism has the advantage thatwithin a sufficiently wide frequency band, multiple groups canbe desynchronized, with respect to a given target group, withoutbeing necessarily synchronized to each other. Periods of putativeinteractions between distant neuronal groups are marked by anincreased precision of synchronization (1, 4, 6, 2630).
We propose that the pattern of synchronization (its precision,phase, or both) weights the anatomical-connection infrastructurewith a gain pattern, resulting in an effective interaction pattern(14). Such a mechanism would have several interesting features.First, the effective interaction pattern could be modified verydynamically. Second, the mechanism would act connectionwise.Third, a transient interaction would lead to spike-timedependentplasticity (810) and thus, a long-term trace. And fourth,synchronization might emerge in a self-organized manner between"matching" neuronal groups. In the visual cortex, synchronizationis stronger among neurons activated by the same visual stimulus(1). This principle might generalize to the hand-shaking betweencognitive top-down control and matching sensory bottom-up information,in which case consecutive synchronization could contribute tothe selective routing of sensory information to behavioral control(13, 14, 25). Our results suggest that synchronization has consequencesfor neuronal interactions, providing a putative mechanism throughwhich synchronization contributes to cognitive functions.
References and Notes
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2. A. Bragin et al., J. Neurosci.15, 47 (1995).[Abstract]
3. P. Fries, J. H. Reynolds, A. E. Rorie, R. Desimone, Science291, 1560 (2001).[Abstract/Free Full Text]
18. P. Fries, P. R. Roelfsema, A. K. Engel, P. König, W. Singer, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.94, 12699 (1997).[Abstract/Free Full Text]
19. P. Fries, J. H. Schröder, P. R. Roelfsema, W. Singer, A. K. Engel, J. Neurosci.22, 3739 (2002).[Abstract/Free Full Text]
20. T. Womelsdorf, P. Fries, P. P. Mitra, R. Desimone, Nature439, 733 (2006). [CrossRef] [Medline]
21. Materials and methods are available as supporting material on Science Online.
22. Positive and negative departures from the good phase relation toward the bad phase relation were pooled because our previous analyses had demonstrated symmetric effects in both directions.
23. P. König, A. K. Engel, P. R. Roelfsema, W. Singer, Neural Comput.7, 469 (1995). [Web of Science] [Medline]
31. We thank P. König, P. R. Roelfsema, and J. H. Schröder for help during the cat experiments and J. H. Reynolds, A. E. Rorie, and A. F. Rossi for help during the monkey experiments. This work was supported by the Human Frontier Science Program and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (P.F.); the Volkswagen Foundation (A.K.E. and P.F); the Max Planck Society (P.F., A.K.E., and W.S.); European Union grants EU IST-027268 and EU NEST-043457 (A.K.E.); and NIH grant R01EY017292 and the National Institute of Mental HealthIntramural Research Program (R.D.).
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