Labecki Maciej, Kus Rafal, Brzozowska Alicja, Stacewicz Tadeusz, Bhattacharya Basabdatta S, Suffczynski Piotr
Biomedical Physics Division, Faculty of Physics, Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Warsaw Warsaw, Poland.
Section of Optics, Faculty of Physics, Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Warsaw Warsaw, Poland.
Front Comput Neurosci. 2016 Dec 27;10:129. doi: 10.3389/fncom.2016.00129. eCollection 2016.
Steady state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) are steady state oscillatory potentials elicited in the electroencephalogram (EEG) by flicker stimulation. The frequency of these responses maches the frequency of the stimulation and of its harmonics and subharmonics. In this study, we investigated the origin of the harmonic and subharmonic components of SSVEPs, which are not well understood. We applied both sine and square wave visual stimulation at 5 and 15 Hz to human subjects and analyzed the properties of the fundamental responses and harmonically related components. In order to interpret the results, we used the well-established neural mass model that consists of interacting populations of excitatory and inhibitory cortical neurons. In our study, this model provided a simple explanation for the origin of SSVEP spectra, and showed that their harmonic and subharmonic components are a natural consequence of the nonlinear properties of neuronal populations and the resonant properties of the modeled network. The model also predicted multiples of subharmonic responses, which were subsequently confirmed using experimental data.
稳态视觉诱发电位（SSVEPs）是在脑电图（EEG）中由闪烁刺激诱发的稳态振荡电位。这些反应的频率与刺激频率及其谐波和次谐波频率相匹配。在本研究中，我们调查了SSVEPs谐波和次谐波成分的起源，目前人们对此还了解甚少。我们对人类受试者施加了5Hz和15Hz的正弦波和方波视觉刺激，并分析了基本反应以及谐波相关成分的特性。为了解释结果，我们使用了成熟的神经团模型，该模型由兴奋性和抑制性皮质神经元的相互作用群体组成。在我们的研究中，该模型为SSVEP频谱的起源提供了一个简单的解释，并表明其谐波和次谐波成分是神经元群体非线性特性和建模网络共振特性的自然结果。该模型还预测了次谐波反应的倍数，随后使用实验数据得到了证实。
