Theta-gamma coupling during REM sleep depends on breathing rate

Temporal coupling between theta and gamma oscillations is a hallmark activity pattern of several cortical networks and becomes especially prominent during REM sleep. In a parallel approach, nasal breathing has been recently shown to generate phase-entrained network oscillations which also modulate g...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Hammer, Maximilian, Schwale, Chrysovalandis, Brankačk, Jurij, Draguhn, Andreas, Tort, Adriano Bretanha Lopes
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:Brasil
Institución:Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN)
Repositorio:Repositório Institucional da UFRN
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.ufrn.br:123456789/33048
Acceso en línea:https://repositorio.ufrn.br/handle/123456789/33048
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Cross-frequency coupling
Theta
Gamma
Respiration
Neocortex
REM sleep
Descripción
Sumario:Temporal coupling between theta and gamma oscillations is a hallmark activity pattern of several cortical networks and becomes especially prominent during REM sleep. In a parallel approach, nasal breathing has been recently shown to generate phase-entrained network oscillations which also modulate gamma. Both slow rhythms (theta and respiration-entrained oscillations) have been suggested to aid large-scale integration but they differ in frequency, display low coherence, and modulate different gamma sub-bands. Respiration and theta are therefore believed to be largely independent. In the present work, however, we report an unexpected but robust relation between theta-gamma coupling and respiration in mice. Interestingly, this relation takes place not through the phase of individual respiration cycles, but through respiration rate: the strength of theta-gamma coupling exhibits an inverted V-shaped dependence on breathing rate, leading to maximal coupling at breathing frequencies of 4-6 Hz. Noteworthy, when subdividing sleep epochs into phasic and tonic REM patterns, we find that breathing differentially relates to theta-gamma coupling in each state, providing new evidence for their physiological distinctiveness. Altogether, our results reveal that breathing correlates with brain activity not only through phase-entrainment but also through rate-dependent relations with theta-gamma coupling. Thus, the link between respiration and other patterns of cortical network activity is more complex than previously assumed