Interhemispheric Phase Synchrony and Amplitude Correlation of Spontaneous Beta Oscillations in Human Subjects: a Magnetoencephalographic Study

Interhemispheric phase synchrony and amplitude correlation of beta oscillations were studied with MEG in a resting condition. The left and right hemisphere beta oscillations exhibited phase-locking with a phase-lag near zero degrees. The index of synchronization was strongest when these oscillations had large amplitude. Functionally, we interpret the phase synchrony on the basis of bilaterality of movement organization. A positive interhemispheric correlation was also found for the amplitude of spontaneous beta oscillations over long time intervals (> 1 s). The low-frequency correlation of spontaneous rhythmic activity may be the source of the low-frequency correlations of the hemodynamic responses in homologous areas that have been reported previously and have been interpreted as functional connectivity between these areas.