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Oscillatory and Intermittent Synchrony in the Hippocampus: Relevance to Memory Trace Formation

  • Conference paper
Temporal Coding in the Brain

Part of the book series: Research and Perspectives in Neurosciences ((NEUROSCIENCE))

Summary

The different cell populations of the hippocampus are involved in behaviorregulated intermittent population bursts (sharp-waves, (SPW) and dentate spikes) and oscillations (theta, gamma and 200 Hz). SPW occur during consummatory behaviors and slow wave sleep. This field potential reflects summated EPSPs in the apical dendrites of CA1 pyramidal neurons as a result of population synchrony in the CA3 recurrent network. During SPW bursts, CA1 pyramidal cells display highly coherent transient network oscillations (200 Hz). Participating pyramidal cells discharge at a significantly lower rate than the frequency of the population oscillation and their action potentials are phase-locked to the simultaneously recorded oscillatory field potentials. Antagonistic to these intermittent events are the theta (6–10 Hz) and associated gamma (40–100 Hz) oscillations during exploratory behavior and REM sleep. In the intact rat the gamma pattern has its largest amplitude in the hilus, is modulated by theta and is entrained by the entorhinal input. The theta pattern is generated by several spatially distinct but highly coherent dipoles and requires an external pacemaker (septum).

The cooperative neuronal discharges underlying the various oscillatory and intermittent synchronous patterns may support neuronal mechanisms underlying memory trace formation in the hippocampus. We hypothesize that such a process requires two stages. 1) During theta-associated exploration, activation vectors from the entorhinal cortex code mnemonic representations in subsets of CA 3 pyramidal cells, where information is temporarily held. 2) At the end of exploration, CA3 cells are disinhibited and discharge in bursts, the most recently and hence most strongly excited ones first (burst initiators). Excitation is spread to less excitable pyramidal cells by the extensive recurrent CA3 collateral system. In essence, the information gathered during the exploratory stage is “replayed” during the SPW bursts. The most important aspect of the model is that the sequential recruitment of individual cells into population bursts (dynamic hierarchy) is based on representations acquired during exploration. In this two-stage model both activation patterns (theta and gamma) and intermittent patterns (SPW) subserve to process specific information.

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Authors
  1. G. Buzsáki
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  2. A. Bragin
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  3. J. J. Chrobak
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  4. Z. Nádasdy
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  5. A. Sik
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  6. M. Hsu
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  7. A. Ylinen
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience, Rutgers University, 197 University Avenue, Newark, NJ, 07102, USA

    G. Buzsáki Ph. D.

  2. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, New York University Medical Center, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY, 10016, USA

    R. Llinás Ph.D.

  3. Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Deutschordenstr. 46, D-60528, Frankfurt/Main, Germany

    W. Singer Ph.D.

  4. Laboratoire de Physiologie de la Perception et de l’Action, Collège de France-CNRS, 15, rue de l’Ecole de Medecine, F-75270, Paris Cedex 06, France

    A. Berthoz Ph. D.

  5. Fondation IPSEN, 24, rue Erlanger, F-75016, Paris, France

    Y. Christen Ph. D.

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Buzsáki, G. et al. (1994). Oscillatory and Intermittent Synchrony in the Hippocampus: Relevance to Memory Trace Formation. In: Buzsáki, G., Llinás, R., Singer, W., Berthoz, A., Christen, Y. (eds) Temporal Coding in the Brain. Research and Perspectives in Neurosciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-85148-3_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-85148-3_9

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-85150-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-85148-3

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