Induced cortical oscillations in turtle cortex are coherent at the mesoscale of population activity, but not at the microscale of the membrane potential of neurons

In conclusion, neuronal oscillations at distant locations in visual cortex are coherent at the mesoscale of population activity, but coherence is largely absent at the microscale of the membrane potential of neurons.
NEW & NOTEWORTHY Coherent oscillatory neural activity has long been hypothesized as a potential mechanism for communication across locations in the brain. In this study we confirm the existence of coherent oscillations at the mesoscale of integrated cortical population activity. However, at the microscopic level of neurons, we find no evidence for coherence among oscillatory membrane potential fluctuations. These results raise questions about the applicability of the communication through coherence hypothesis to the level of the membrane potential.

Source: Journal of Neurophysiology - November 1, 2017 Category: Neurology Authors: Hoseini, M. S., Pobst, J., Wright, N., Clawson, W., Shew, W., Wessel, R. Tags: Research Articles Source Type: research