Phase Difference between Model Cortical Areas Determines Level of Information Transfer

" ... everyday cognitive tasks demand a fast and flexible routing of information in the brain. Synchronization of activity between distant cortical sites has been proposed as the mechanism underlying such a dynamic communication structure. Here, we study how oscillatory activity affects the excitability and input-output relation of local cortical circuits and how it alters the transmission of information between cortical circuits. " {Credits 1}

" ... an appropriate phase difference between the circuits is critical for the susceptibility windows of the circuits in the network to align and for information to be efficiently transferred. We demonstrate that changes in synchrony and phase difference can be used to set up or abolish information transfer in a network of cortical circuits." {Credits 1}

" Our results agree with, and extend previous modeling studies, and account for recent experimental findings and they indicate that synchrony not only allows for a dynamic communication structure, but also creates a medium for multiplexing and parallel coding." {Credits 1}

{Credits 1} 🎪 Ter Wal, M., & Tiesinga, P. H. (2017). Phase Difference between Model Cortical Areas Determines Level of Information Transfer. Frontiers in computational neuroscience, 11, 6. doi:10.3389/fncom.2017.00006. Copyright © 2017 ter Wal and Tiesinga. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY).