Correlated spiking is often observed in cortical circuits, but its functional role is controversial. It is believed that correlations are a consequence of shared inputs between nearby neurons and could severely constrain information decoding. Here we show theoretically that recurrent neural networks can generate an asynchronous state characterized by arbitrarily low mean spiking correlations despite substantial amounts of shared input. In this state, spontaneous fluctuations in the activity of excitatory and inhibitory populations accurately track each other, generating negative correlations in synaptic currents which cancel the effect of shared input. Near-zero mean correlations were seen experimentally in recordings from rodent neocortex in vivo. Our results suggest a re-examination of the sources underlying observed correlations and their functional consequences for information processing.

Most neuronal interactions in the cortex occur within local circuits. Because principal cells and GABAergic interneurons contribute differently to cortical operations, their experimental identification and separation is of utmost important. We used 64-site two-dimensional silicon probes for high-density recording of local neurons in layer 5 of the somatosensory and prefrontal cortices of the rat. Multiple-site monitoring of units allowed for the determination of their two-dimensional spatial position in the brain. Of the approximately 60,000 cell pairs recorded, 0.2% showed robust short-term interactions. Units with significant, short-latency (<3 ms) peaks following their action potentials in their cross-correlograms were characterized as putative excitatory (pyramidal) cells. Units with significant suppression of spiking of their partners were regarded as putative GABAergic interneurons. A portion of the putative interneurons was reciprocally connected with pyramidal cells. Neurons physiologically identified as inhibitory and excitatory cells were used as templates for classification of all recorded neurons. Of the several parameters tested, the duration of the unfiltered (1 Hz to 5 kHz) spike provided the most reliable clustering of the population. High-density parallel recordings of neuronal activity, determination of their physical location and their classification into pyramidal and interneuron classes provide the necessary tools for local circuit analysis.

A large population of neurons can in principle produce an astronomical number of distinct firing patterns. In cortex however, these patterns lie in a space of lower dimension1-4, as if individual neurons were “obedient members of a huge orchestra”5. Here we use recordings from the visual cortex of mouse and monkey to investigate the relationship between individual neurons and the population, and to establish the underlying circuit mechanisms. We show that neighbouring neurons can differ in their coupling to the overall firing of the population, ranging from strongly coupled “choristers” to weakly coupled “soloists”. Population coupling is largely independent of sensory preferences, and it is a fixed cellular attribute, invariant to stimulus conditions. Neurons with high population coupling are more strongly affected by non-sensory behavioural variables such as motor intention. Population coupling reflects a causal relationship, predicting a neuron’s response to optogenetically-driven increases in local activity. Moreover, population coupling indicates synaptic connectivity: a neuron’s population coupling, measured in vivo, predicted subsequent in vitro estimates of the number of synapses received from its neighbours. Finally, population coupling provides a compact summary of population activity: knowledge of the population couplings of N neurons predicts a substantial portion of their N2 pairwise correlations. Population coupling therefore represents a novel, simple measure that characterises each neuron’s relationship to a larger population, explaining seemingly complex network firing patterns in terms of basic circuit variables.

Summary Neocortical assemblies produce complex activity patterns both in response to sensory stimuli, and spontaneously without sensory input. To investigate the structure of these patterns, we recorded from populations of 40–100 neurons in auditory and somatosensory cortices of anesthetized and awake rats using silicon microelectrodes. Population spike time patterns were broadly conserved across multiple sensory stimuli and spontaneous events. Although individual neurons showed timing variations between stimuli, these were not sufficient to disturb a generally conserved sequential organization observed at the population level, lasting for approximately 100ms with spiking reliability decaying progressively after event onset. Preserved constraints were also seen in population firing rate vectors, with vectors evoked by individual stimuli occupying subspaces of a larger but still constrained space outlined by the set of spontaneous events. These results suggest that population spike patterns are drawn from a limited “vocabulary,” sampled widely by spontaneous events but more narrowly by sensory responses.

Even in the absence of sensory stimulation, the neocortex shows complex spontaneous activity patterns, often consisting of alternating ''DOWN'' states of generalized neural silence and ''UP'' states of massive, persistent network activity. To investigate how this spontaneous activity propagates through neuronal assemblies in vivo, we simultaneously recorded populations of 50 -200 cortical neurons in layer V of anesthetized and awake rats. Each neuron displayed a virtually unique spike pattern during UP states, with diversity seen amongst both putative pyramidal cells and interneurons, reflecting a complex but stereotypically organized sequential spread of activation through local cortical networks. Spike timing was most precise during the first Ϸ100 ms after UP state onset, and decayed as UP states progressed. A subset of UP states propagated as traveling waves, but waves passing a given point in either direction initiated similar local sequences, suggesting local networks as the substrate of sequential firing patterns. A search for repeating motifs indicated that their occurrence and structure was predictable from neurons' individual latencies to UP state onset. We suggest that these stereotyped patterns arise from the interplay of intrinsic cellular conductances and local circuit properties.neuronal assembly ͉ repeating sequences ͉ slow oscillations ͉ syntire chains ͉ microcircuits T he neocortex contains a rich variety of neural classes that are connected together in a complex, but stereotyped manner (1-3). Only a fraction of cortical synapses carry ascending information from the thalamus; the majority arises from other cortical cells. It has been suggested that this recurrent connectivity allows the cortex to process information through the sequential activation of neuronal assemblies (4). Consistent with this picture, cortical activity exhibits coordinated dynamics beyond that predicted from common modulation by sensory input (5-7). Even in the absence of sensory stimulation (e.g., during sleep) the cortex shows complex spontaneous activity patterns, which have been suggested to reflect an ''off-line'' mode of information processing (7-12).During sleep and quiet wakefulness, cortical spontaneous activity is dominated by the ''slow oscillation,'' consisting of alternating ''DOWN'' states of generalized neural silence and ''UP'' states of massive, persistent network activity (13). The dynamics of spontaneous UP states show striking similarities to those of sensory-evoked activity (14), suggesting that spontaneous patterns may be a useful experimental model for the flow of activity through cortical circuits. The way spontaneous activity propagates through cortical populations is unclear: whereas in vivo optical imaging results suggest a random and unstructured process (15), in vitro models suggest a more complex picture involving local sequential organization and/or traveling waves (16-21).Here, we study the spatiotemporal structure of spontaneous activity in vivo by recording populations of 50-200 cells in ra...

Theta oscillations in the limbic system depend on the integrity of the medial septum. The different populations of medial septal neurons (cholinergic and GABAergic) are assumed to affect different aspects of theta oscillations. Using optogenetic stimulation of cholinergic neurons in ChAT-Cre mice, we investigated their effects on hippocampal local field potentials in both anesthetized and behaving mice. Cholinergic stimulation completely blocked sharp wave ripples and strongly suppressed the power of both slow oscillations (0.5-2 Hz in anesthetized, 0.5-4 Hz in behaving animals) and supratheta (6-10 Hz in anesthetized, 10-25 Hz in behaving animals) bands. The same stimulation robustly increased both the power and coherence of theta oscillations (2-6 Hz) in urethane-anesthetized mice. In behaving mice, cholinergic stimulation was less effective in the theta (4-10 Hz) band yet it also increased the ratio of theta/slow oscillation and theta coherence. The effects on gamma oscillations largely mirrored those of theta. These findings show that medial septal cholinergic activation can both enhance theta rhythm and suppress peri-theta frequency bands, allowing theta oscillations to dominate.S ubcortical neuromodulators play a critical role in shifting states of the brain (1, 2). State changes can occur both during sleep and in the waking animal and are instrumental in affecting local circuit computation that supports various functions, including attention, learning, memory, and action (3-5). The septo-hippocampal cholinergic system has been hypothesized to play a critical role in setting network states in the limbic system (4, 6). ACh can affect both short-and long-term plasticity of synaptic connections and provide favorable conditions for encoding information (7-9). These plastic states are associated with hippocampal theta oscillations (10). High theta states are characterized by increased release of ACh that varies in a task-dependent manner on the time scale of seconds (11-13). In contrast, reduced cholinergic activity allows effective spread of excitation in the recurrent CA3 network, giving rise to synchronous sharp wave ripples (SPW-R) (14-16).Inactivation of the medial septum (MS)/diagonal band of Broca abolishes theta oscillations in the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex (17) and results in severe learning deficit (18,19). Similarly, selective toxin lesion of septal cholinergic neurons produces a several-fold decrease of theta power but not its frequency (20). The phase of the local field potentials (LFP) theta oscillations shifts from the septal to the temporal pole and in the CA3-CA1 axis by ∼180° (21, 22). Thus, at each point in time neurons residing at different locations of the three-dimensional structure of the hippocampus spike at different theta phases yet are bound together by the global theta signal. These numerous sources of theta generators are believed to be coordinated by the reciprocal connections between the septum and hippocampus (23), but the nature of this spatial-temporal coordination is n...

Large and long-lasting cytosolic calcium surges in astrocytes have been described in cultured cells and acute slice preparations. The mechanisms that give rise to these calcium events have been extensively studied in vitro. However, their existence and functions in the intact brain are unknown. We have topically applied Fluo-4 AM on the cerebral cortex of anesthetized rats, and imaged cytosolic calcium fluctuation in astrocyte populations of superficial cortical layers in vivo, using two-photon laser scanning microscopy. Spontaneous [Ca2+]i events in individual astrocytes were similar to those observed in vitro. Coordination of [Ca2+]i events among astrocytes was indicated by the broad cross-correlograms. Increased neuronal discharge was associated with increased astrocytic [Ca2+]i activity in individual cells and a robust coordination of [Ca2+]i signals in neighboring astrocytes. These findings indicate potential neuron–glia communication in the intact brain.

Parallel recording of neuronal activity in the behaving animal is a prerequisite for our understanding of neuronal representation and storage of information. Here we describe the development of micro-machined silicon microelectrode arrays for unit and local field recordings. The two-dimensional probes with 96 or 64 recording sites provided high-density recording of unit and field activity with minimal tissue displacement or damage. The on-chip active circuit eliminated movement and other artifacts and greatly reduced the weight of the headgear. The precise geometry of the recording tips allowed for the estimation of the spatial location of the recorded neurons and for high-resolution estimation of extracellular current source density. Action potentials could be simultaneously recorded from the soma and dendrites of the same neurons. Silicon technology is a promising approach for high-density, high-resolution sampling of neuronal activity in both basic research and prosthetic devices.