Dynamic cross-frequency couplings of local field potential oscillations in rat striatum and hippocampus during performance of a T-maze task

TLDR

Oscillatory rhythms in distinct frequency ranges mark behavioral states and may bind neuronal assemblies, yet their interactions suggest higher‑order representations of brain states. The study aims to determine whether cross‑frequency interactions between striatal and hippocampal oscillations encode such higher‑order states. This was investigated by simultaneously recording local field potentials from the rat striatum and hippocampus while the animals performed a T‑maze task. During navigation, high‑frequency oscillation amplitudes were modulated by theta phase in both structures, with distinct subband patterns, implying that cross‑frequency coupling supports network‑level computations underlying voluntary behavior.

Abstract

Oscillatory rhythms in different frequency ranges mark different behavioral states and are thought to provide distinct temporal windows that coherently bind cooperating neuronal assemblies. However, the rhythms in different bands can also interact with each other, suggesting the possibility of higher-order representations of brain states by such rhythmic activity. To explore this possibility, we analyzed local field potential oscillations recorded simultaneously from the striatum and the hippocampus. As rats performed a task requiring active navigation and decision making, the amplitudes of multiple high-frequency oscillations were dynamically modulated in task-dependent patterns by the phase of cooccurring theta-band oscillations both within and across these structures, particularly during decision-making behavioral epochs. Moreover, the modulation patterns uncovered distinctions among both high- and low-frequency subbands. Cross-frequency coupling of multiple neuronal rhythms could be a general mechanism used by the brain to perform network-level dynamical computations underlying voluntary behavior.