Visuomotor integration is associated with zero time-lag synchronization among cortical areas

TY - JOUR

T1 - Visuomotor integration is associated with zero time-lag synchronization among cortical areas

AU - Roelfsema, P R

AU - Engel, A K

AU - König, P

AU - Singer, W

PY - 1997/1/9

Y1 - 1997/1/9

N2 - Information processing in the cerebral cortex invariably involves the activation of millions of neurons that are widely distributed over its various areas. These distributed activity patterns need to be integrated into coherent representational states. A candidate mechanism for the integration and coordination of neuronal activity between different brain regions is synchronization on a fine temporal scale. In the visual cortex, synchronization occurs selectively between the responses of neurons that represent related features and that need to be integrated for the generation of coherent percepts; neurons in other areas of the cerebral cortex also synchronize their discharges. However, little is known about the patterns and the behavioural correlates of synchrony among widely separated cortical regions. Here we report that synchronization occurs between areas of the visual and parietal cortex, and between areas of the parietal and motor cortex, in the awake cat. When cats responded to a sudden change of a visual pattern, neuronal activity in cortical areas exhibited synchrony without time lags; this synchrony was particularly strong between areas subserving related functions. During reward and inter-trial episodes, zero-time-lag synchrony was lost and replaced by interactions exhibiting large and unsystematic time lags.

AB - Information processing in the cerebral cortex invariably involves the activation of millions of neurons that are widely distributed over its various areas. These distributed activity patterns need to be integrated into coherent representational states. A candidate mechanism for the integration and coordination of neuronal activity between different brain regions is synchronization on a fine temporal scale. In the visual cortex, synchronization occurs selectively between the responses of neurons that represent related features and that need to be integrated for the generation of coherent percepts; neurons in other areas of the cerebral cortex also synchronize their discharges. However, little is known about the patterns and the behavioural correlates of synchrony among widely separated cortical regions. Here we report that synchronization occurs between areas of the visual and parietal cortex, and between areas of the parietal and motor cortex, in the awake cat. When cats responded to a sudden change of a visual pattern, neuronal activity in cortical areas exhibited synchrony without time lags; this synchrony was particularly strong between areas subserving related functions. During reward and inter-trial episodes, zero-time-lag synchrony was lost and replaced by interactions exhibiting large and unsystematic time lags.

KW - Action Potentials

KW - Animals

KW - Attention

KW - Cats

KW - Conditioning, Classical

KW - Cortical Synchronization

KW - Motor Cortex

KW - Neural Pathways

KW - Parietal Lobe

KW - Psychomotor Performance

KW - Visual Cortex

U2 - 10.1038/385157a0

DO - 10.1038/385157a0

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 8990118

VL - 385

SP - 157

EP - 161

JO - NATURE

JF - NATURE

SN - 0028-0836

IS - 6612

ER -