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Authors & Affiliations
Jung Young Kim, Jee Hyun Choi, Demian Battaglia
Abstract
Slower (e.g., beta) and faster (e.g., gamma) oscillatory bursts have been linked to multiplexed communication between neural populations in different directions [1], respectively relaying, in a predictive coding interpretation, top-down expectations and bottom-up prediction error signals [2], which target and originate from distinct cortical layers with different dominant frequencies [3]. However, this oscillatory-multiplexed routing theory presents several challenges. Multiplexed routing might occur indeed without need for distinct frequencies of operation [4]. Furthermore, phasic enhancement from slow oscillations could be too sluggish to modulate information processing at the faster oscillations scale. What fundamental functional advantage, then, could multi-frequency oscillatory bursting offer?
We investigate information transfer between two neural circuits (e.g., different cortical layers or regions) generating sparsely synchronized, transient oscillatory bursts with distinct intrinsic frequencies. Through a systematic parameter space exploration, guided by unsupervised classification, we uncover a diverse range of Multi-Frequency Oscillatory Patterns (MFOPs). These include configurations in which the populations emit bursts at their natural frequencies, deviating from them, or even at more than one frequency simultaneously or sequentially. Using information theory analysis, based on Transfer Entropy and other functionals, we demonstrate that distinct MFOPs correspond to different Information Routing Patterns (IRPs), dynamically boosting or suppressing transfer in different directions at precise times, forming specific temporal graph motifs associated to each MFOP. Notably, the “slow” population can send information with latencies shorter than a fast oscillation period and also affect multiple faster cycles within a single slow cycle.
Our findings show that the coexistence and coordination of oscillatory bursts at different frequencies enables rich, temporally-structured choreographies of information exchange, moving well beyond simple multiplexing (one direction = one frequency). The presence of multiple frequencies considerably expands the repertoire of possible space-time information transfer patterns, providing a self-organized resource that could be harnessed to support distinct functional computations.