Circuit and cell-type mechanisms of the spectrolaminar motif of cortical oscillations

Abstract

Oscillations are a key feature of cortical activity, coordinating spike timing across areas, layers, and cell types. Recent work suggests these rhythms follow a stereotyped organization across cortical depth, the spectrolaminar (SL) motif, with higher-frequency gamma prominent in superficial layers and lower-frequency alpha/beta in deep layers, yet the mechanisms generating it remain poorly understood. Using a bio-realistic model of mouse primary visual cortex, we reproduced the SL motif and found it preserved across diverse visual stimuli. Systematic cell-type- and layer-resolved perturbations showed that the alpha/beta component was intrinsic to every layer, whereas the 50-80 Hz gamma component was predominantly generated within layer 4 (L4) and propagated network-wide through inter-laminar connections. Pvalb interneurons were the principal regulators of gamma, Sst cells shaped low-frequency power, and Vip cells controlled oscillation magnitude. The temporal properties of L4 Pvalb-to-excitatory synapses were especially influential in generating the SL motif. These models and simulation results thus offer a plausible description of circuit mechanisms underlying cortical oscillations and the SL motif and are publicly available to facilitate further studies.