Modeling analysis of the relationship between EEG rhythms and connectivity among different neural populations.

ABSTRACT

In our research, a neural mass model consisting of four interconnected neural groups (pyramidal neurons, excitatory interneurons, inhibitory interneurons with slow synaptic kinetics, and inhibitory interneurons with fast synaptic kinetics) is used to investigate the mechanisms which cause the appearance of multiple rhythms in EEG spectra, and to assess how these rhythms can be affected by connectivity among different populations. First, we showed that a single neural population, stimulated with white noise, can oscillate with its intrinsic rhythm, and that the position of this rhythm can be finely tuned (in the alpha, beta or gamma frequency ranges), acting on the population synaptic kinetics. Subsequently, we analyzed more complex circuits, composed of two or three interconnected populations, each with a different synaptic kinetics between neural groups within a population (hence, with a different intrinsic rhythm). The results demonstrates apex that a single population can exhibit many different simultaneous rhythms, provided that some of these come from external sources (for instance, from remote regions). The analysis of coherence, and of the position of the peaks in power spectral density, reveals important information on the possible connections among populations, and is especially useful to follow temporal changes in connectivity. In perspective, the results may be of value for a deeper comprehension of the mechanisms causing EEGs rhythms, for the study of connectivity among different neural populations and for the test of neurophysiological hypotheses.