Monitoring neuronal oscillations and signal transmission between cortical regions using time-frequency analysis of electroencephalographic activity

Oscillatory states in the electroencephalogram (EEG) reflect the rhythmic synchronous activity in large networks of neurons. Time-frequency (TF) methods, which quantify the spectral content of the EEG as a function of time, are well suited as tools for the study of spontaneous and induced changes in oscillatory states. The use of these methods provides insights into the temporal dynamics of EEG activity in both humans and experimental animals, and aids the study of the neuronal mechanisms that generate rhythmic EEG activity. Further the use of TF coherence analysts, which quantifies the consistency of phase relationships in multichannel EEG recordings, may contribute to the understanding of signal transmission between neuronal populations in different parts of the brain. We have used TF techniques to analyze the flow of activity patterns between two strongly connected brain structures: the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus. Both of these structures are believed to be involved in information storage. By applying various frequencies of stimulation, we have found a peak in the spectral power in both sites at around 18 Hz, but the coherence between the EEG signals recorded from these sites was found to increase monotonically up to about 35 Hz. We have also found that long-term potentiation, a strong increase in the efficacy of excitatory synapses between these sites, either had no effect or decreased coherence.