Dataset Information

Frequency-specific coupling in fronto-parieto-occipital cortical circuits underlie active tactile discrimination.

ABSTRACT: Processing of tactile sensory information in rodents is critically dependent on the communication between the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and higher-order integrative cortical areas. Here, we have simultaneously characterized single-unit activity and local field potential (LFP) dynamics in the S1, primary visual cortex (V1), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), posterior parietal cortex (PPC), while freely moving rats performed an active tactile discrimination task. Simultaneous single unit recordings from all these cortical regions revealed statistically significant neuronal firing rate modulations during all task phases (anticipatory, discrimination, response, and reward). Meanwhile, phase analysis of pairwise LFP recordings revealed the occurrence of long-range synchronization across the sampled fronto-parieto-occipital cortical areas during tactile sampling. Causal analysis of the same pairwise recorded LFPs demonstrated the occurrence of complex dynamic interactions between cortical areas throughout the fronto-parietal-occipital loop. These interactions changed significantly between cortical regions as a function of frequencies (i.e. beta, theta and gamma) and according to the different phases of the behavioral task. Overall, these findings indicate that active tactile discrimination by rats is characterized by much more widespread and dynamic complex interactions within the fronto-parieto-occipital cortex than previously anticipated.

SUBMITTER: Kunicki C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6434051 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Frequency-specific coupling in fronto-parieto-occipital cortical circuits underlie active tactile discrimination.

Kunicki Carolina C C Moioli Renan R Pais-Vieira Miguel M Salles Cunha Peres André A Morya Edgard E A L Nicolelis Miguel M

Scientific reports 20190325 1

Processing of tactile sensory information in rodents is critically dependent on the communication between the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and higher-order integrative cortical areas. Here, we have simultaneously characterized single-unit activity and local field potential (LFP) dynamics in the S1, primary visual cortex (V1), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), posterior parietal cortex (PPC), while freely moving rats performed an active tactile discrimination task. Simultaneous single unit re ...[more]

PMID: 30911025

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Project description:Many neuroimaging studies have demonstrated the different functional contributions of spatially distinct brain areas to working memory (WM) subsystems in cognitive tasks that demand both local information processing and interregional coordination. In WM cognitive task paradigms employing electroencephalography (EEG), brain rhythms such as θ and α have been linked to specific functional roles over given brain areas, but their functional coupling has not been extensively studied. Here we analyzed an arithmetic task with five cognitive workload levels (CWLs) and demonstrated functional/effective coupling between the two WM subsystems: the central executive located over frontal (F) brain areas that oscillates on the dominant θ rhythm (Frontal(θ)/F(θ)) and the storage buffer located over parieto-occipital (PO) brain areas that operates on the α2 dominant brain rhythm (Parieto-Occipital(α2)/PO(α2)). We focused on important differences between and within WM subsystems in relation to behavioral performance. A repertoire of brain connectivity estimators was employed to elucidate the distinct roles of amplitude, phase within and between frequencies, and the hierarchical role of functionally specialized brain areas related to the task. Specifically, for each CWL, we conducted a) a conventional signal power analysis within both frequency bands at F(θ) and PO(α2), b) the intra- and inter-frequency phase interactions between F(θ) and PO(α2), and c) their causal phase and amplitude relationship. We found no significant statistical difference of signal power or phase interactions between correct and wrong answers. Interestingly, the study of causal interactions between F(θ) and PO(α2) revealed frontal brain region(s) as the leader, while the strength differentiated between correct and wrong responses in every CWL with absolute accuracy. Additionally, zero time-lag between bilateral F(θ) and right PO(a2) could serve as an indicator of mental calculation failure. Overall, our study highlights the significant role of coordinated activity between F(θ) and PO(α2) via their causal interactions and the timing for arithmetic performance.

Dataset Information

Frequency-specific coupling in fronto-parieto-occipital cortical circuits underlie active tactile discrimination.

Publications

Frequency-specific coupling in fronto-parieto-occipital cortical circuits underlie active tactile discrimination.

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