Assessing Neuronal Synchrony and Brain Function Through Local Field Potential and Spike Analysis

Studies of neuronal network oscillations and rhythmic neuronal synchronization have led to a number of important insights in recent years, giving us a better understanding of the temporal organization of neuronal activity related to essential brain functions like sensory processing and cognition. Important principles and theories have emerged from these findings, including the communication through coherence hypothesis, which proposes that synchronous oscillations render neuronal communication effective, selective, and precise. The implications of such a theory may be universal for brain function, as the determinants of neuronal communication inextricably shape the neuronal representation of information in the brain. However, the study of communication through coherence is still relatively young. Since its articulation in 2005, the theory has predominantly been applied to assess cortical function and its communication with downstream targets in different sensory and behavioral conditions. The results herein are intended to bolster this hypothesis and explore new ways in which oscillations coordinate neuronal communication in distributed regions. This includes the development of new analytic tools for interpreting electrophysiological patterns, inspired by phase synchronization and spike train analysis. These tools aim to offer fast results with clear statistical and physiological interpretation