Modulation of intercolumnar synchronization by
endogenous electric fields in cerebral cortex.
Beatriz Rebollo, Bartosz Telenczuk, Alvaro Navarro-Guzman,
Alain Destexhe, and Maria V. Sanchez-Vives.
Science Advances 7: eabc7772, 2021.
Abstract
Neurons synaptically interacting in a conductive medium generate
extracellular endogenous electric fields (EFs) that reciprocally
affect membrane potential. Exogenous EFs modulate neuronal
activity, and their clinical applications are being profusely
explored. However, whether endogenous EFs contribute to network
synchronization remains unclear. We analyzed spontaneously
generated slow-wave activity in the cerebral cortex network in
vitro, which allowed us to distinguish synaptic from nonsynaptic
mechanisms of activity propagation and synchronization. Slow
oscillations generated EFs that propagated independently of
synaptic transmission. We demonstrate that cortical oscillations
modulate spontaneous rhythmic activity of neighboring synaptically
disconnected cortical columns if layers are aligned. We provide
experimental evidence that these EF-mediated effects are compatible
with electric dipoles. With a model of interacting dipoles, we
reproduce the experimental measurements and predict that endogenous
EF-mediated synchronizing effects should be relevant in the brain.
Thus, experiments and models suggest that electric-dipole
interactions contribute to synchronization of neighboring cortical
columns.
Program code and data
The program codes of the mean-field model (in python) are
available at Zenodo: B.T. Telenczuk, B.
Rebollo, A. Navarro-Guzman, M. Sanchez-Vives, and A. Destexhe.
Python code for mean-field model of electric-field interactions in
cerebral cortex. Zenodo 4432866, 2021.
Data associated with the article can be found in Zenodo: B. Rebollo, A.
Navarro-Guzman, B. Telenczuk, A. Destexhe, and M. V.
Sanchez-Vives. Data associated with "Modulation of intercolumnar
synchronization by endogenous electric fields in cerebral cortex".
Zenodo 4437568, 2021.
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