Schwenk Jakob C B, Alamia Andrea
Centre de Recherche Cerveau et Cognition (CerCo), CNRS, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
PLoS Comput Biol. 2025 Aug 11;21(8):e1013294. doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1013294. eCollection 2025 Aug.
Recent studies have shown that cortical low-frequency oscillations are often organized as traveling waves. The properties of these waves have been linked to both sensory processing and cognitive functions. In EEG recordings, alpha-band (~10Hz) traveling waves propagate predominantly along the occipital-frontal axis, with forward waves being most prominent during visual processing, while backward waves dominate at rest and during sensory suppression. While a previous study has proposed a functional model to explain their generation and propagation, a biologically plausible implementation is lacking. Here, we present a multi-scale network model with mean-field dynamics that, building on known cortical connectivity, reproduces the dynamics of alpha-band traveling waves observed in EEG recordings. We show that forward and backward waves can arise from two distinct cortical sub-networks that are connected in infragranular layers at each area. At rest, the network generates spontaneous backward waves and switches to a forward state upon sensory stimulation, reproducing the dynamics observed in EEG recordings. We then show that a cortico-thalamic pathway through the pulvinar can bias the dynamics to the forward state and that pulvinar engagement leads to spontaneous forward waves at rest. This is in line with previous studies suggesting a key role for the pulvinar in directing cortical information flow. In summary, our model provides a biologically plausible architecture for modeling the dynamics of macroscale traveling waves. It bridges the gap between scales by connecting laminar activity to scalp-level spatial patterns, providing a biologically grounded and comprehensive view of the spatial propagation of alpha-band traveling waves.
最近的研究表明，皮层低频振荡通常以行波的形式组织起来。这些波的特性与感觉处理和认知功能都有关联。在脑电图记录中，阿尔法波段（约10赫兹）的行波主要沿枕额轴传播，在视觉处理过程中向前的波最为突出，而向后的波在休息和感觉抑制期间占主导。虽然之前的一项研究提出了一个功能模型来解释它们的产生和传播，但缺乏一个生物学上合理的实现方式。在此，我们提出一个具有平均场动力学的多尺度网络模型，该模型基于已知的皮层连接性，再现了脑电图记录中观察到的阿尔法波段行波的动力学。我们表明，向前和向后的波可以源自两个不同的皮层子网，它们在每个区域的颗粒下层相连。在休息时，网络产生自发的向后波，并在感觉刺激时切换到向前状态，再现了脑电图记录中观察到的动力学。然后我们表明，一条通过丘脑枕的皮质 - 丘脑通路可以使动力学偏向于向前状态，并且丘脑枕的参与会导致休息时出现自发的向前波。这与之前的研究一致，这些研究表明丘脑枕在引导皮层信息流方面起着关键作用。总之，我们的模型为模拟宏观尺度行波的动力学提供了一个生物学上合理的架构。它通过将层状活动与头皮水平的空间模式联系起来，弥合了尺度之间的差距，为阿尔法波段行波的空间传播提供了一个基于生物学且全面的视角。
