Spectral Fingerprints of Large-scale Neuronal Interactions

Overview

Journal Nat Rev Neurosci

Specialty Neurology

Date 2012 Jan 12

PMID 22233726

Citations 548

Authors

Markus Siegel

Tobias H Donner

Andreas K Engel

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Cognition results from interactions among functionally specialized but widely distributed brain regions; however, neuroscience has so far largely focused on characterizing the function of individual brain regions and neurons therein. Here we discuss recent studies that have instead investigated the interactions between brain regions during cognitive processes by assessing correlations between neuronal oscillations in different regions of the primate cerebral cortex. These studies have opened a new window onto the large-scale circuit mechanisms underlying sensorimotor decision-making and top-down attention. We propose that frequency-specific neuronal correlations in large-scale cortical networks may be 'fingerprints' of canonical neuronal computations underlying cognitive processes.

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