"Variations in cortical oscillations in the alpha (7–14 Hz) and beta (15–29 Hz) range have been correlated with attention, working memory, and stimulus detection. The mu rhythm recorded with magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a prominent oscillation generated by Rolandic cortex containing alpha and beta bands. Despite its prominence, the neural mechanisms regulating mu are unknown. We characterized the ongoing MEG mu rhythm from a localized source in the finger representation of primary somatosensory (SI) cortex. Subjects showed variation in the relative expression of mu-alpha or mu-beta, which were nonoverlapping for roughly 50% of their respective durations on single trials. To delineate the origins of this rhythm, a biophysically principled computational neural model of SI was developed, with distinct laminae, inhibitory and excitatory neurons, and feedforward (FF, representative of lemniscal thalamic drive) and feedback (FB, representative of higher-order cortical drive or input from nonlemniscal thalamic nuclei) inputs defined by the laminar location of their postsynaptic effects. ..."
Model Type: Realistic Network
Region(s) or Organism(s): Neocortex
Cell Type(s): Neocortex L5/6 pyramidal GLU cell; Neocortex L2/3 pyramidal GLU cell
Currents: I Na,t; I T low threshold; I K; I h
Receptors: GabaA; GabaB; AMPA; NMDA
Model Concept(s): Activity Patterns; Touch
Simulation Environment: NEURON
References:
Jones SR et al. (2009). Quantitative analysis and biophysically realistic neural modeling of the MEG mu rhythm: rhythmogenesis and modulation of sensory-evoked responses. Journal of neurophysiology. 102 [PubMed]