Long-range phase synchronization of high-gamma activity in human cortex

Abstract

Inter-areal synchronization of neuronal oscillations below 100 Hz is ubiquitous in cortical circuitry and thought to regulate neuronal communication. In contrast, faster activities are generally considered to be exclusively local-circuit phenomena. We show with human intracerebral recordings that 100-300 Hz high-gamma activity (HGA) may be synchronized between widely distributed regions. HGA synchronization was not attributable to artefacts or to epileptic pathophysiology. Instead, HGA synchronization exhibited a reliable cortical connectivity and community structures, and a laminar profile opposite to that of lower frequencies. Importantly, HGA synchronization among functional brain systems during non-REM sleep was distinct from that in resting state. Moreover, HGA synchronization was transiently enhanced for correctly inhibited responses in a Go/NoGo task. These findings show that HGA synchronization constitutes a new, functionally significant form of neuronal spike-timing relationships in brain activity. We suggest that HGA synchronization reflects the temporal microstructure of spiking-based neuronal communication per se in cortical circuits.