Circuit and cell-type mechanisms of the spectrolaminar motif of cortical oscillations
- 1Allen Institute
Abstract
Oscillations are a key feature of cortical activity, coordinating spike timing across areas, layers, and cell types. Recent work suggests these rhythms follow a stereotyped organization across cortical depth, the spectrolaminar (SL) motif, with higher-frequency gamma prominent in superficial layers and lower-frequency alpha/beta in deep layers, yet the mechanisms generating it remain poorly understood. Using a bio-realistic model of mouse primary visual cortex, we reproduced the SL motif and found it preserved across diverse visual stimuli. Systematic cell-type- and layer-resolved perturbations showed that the alpha/beta component was intrinsic to every layer, whereas the 50-80 Hz gamma component was predominantly generated within layer 4 (L4) and propagated network-wide through inter-laminar connections. Pvalb interneurons were the principal regulators of gamma, Sst cells shaped low-frequency power, and Vip cells controlled oscillation magnitude. The temporal properties of L4 Pvalb-to-excitatory synapses were especially influential in generating the SL motif. These models and simulation results thus offer a plausible description of circuit mechanisms underlying cortical oscillations and the SL motif and are publicly available to facilitate further studies.
Related
- An adaptive fractional state links circuit mechanisms to cortical dynamics across the visual hierarchy
- Computational investigation of circuit mechanisms underlying short-latency responses to cortical stimulation
- Resting Cortical Alpha and Beta Oscillations are Continuous Across Space and Frequency
- Cortical high frequency oscillations reflect encoding and retrieval of specific word concepts
- Distinct lifespan trajectories of cortical intrinsic timescales and neural oscillations
BibTeX
@misc{herrera2026circuit,
title = {{Circuit and cell-type mechanisms of the spectrolaminar motif of cortical oscillations}},
author = {B. Herrera and S. Ito and D. Haufler and K. Dai and A. Abdaltawab and Y. Li and E. Z. Sennesh and D. Mendoza-Halliday and A. M. Bastos and A. Arkhipov},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.64898/2026.11.04.763717},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.04.763717v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Circuit and cell-type mechanisms of the spectrolaminar motif of cortical oscillations
AU - B. Herrera
AU - S. Ito
AU - D. Haufler
AU - K. Dai
AU - A. Abdaltawab
AU - Y. Li
AU - E. Z. Sennesh
AU - D. Mendoza-Halliday
AU - A. M. Bastos
AU - A. Arkhipov
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/04
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.11.04.763717
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.11.04.763717v1
AB - Oscillations are a key feature of cortical activity, coordinating spike timing across areas, layers, and cell types. Recent work suggests these rhythms follow a stereotyped organization across cortical depth, the spectrolaminar (SL) motif, with higher-frequency gamma prominent in superficial layers and lower-frequency alpha/beta in deep layers, yet the mechanisms generating it remain poorly understood. Using a bio-realistic model of mouse primary visual cortex, we reproduced the SL motif and found it preserved across diverse visual stimuli. Systematic cell-type- and layer-resolved perturbations showed that the alpha/beta component was intrinsic to every layer, whereas the 50-80 Hz gamma component was predominantly generated within layer 4 (L4) and propagated network-wide through inter-laminar connections. Pvalb interneurons were the principal regulators of gamma, Sst cells shaped low-frequency power, and Vip cells controlled oscillation magnitude. The temporal properties of L4 Pvalb-to-excitatory synapses were especially influential in generating the SL motif. These models and simulation results thus offer a plausible description of circuit mechanisms underlying cortical oscillations and the SL motif and are publicly available to facilitate further studies.
ER -