Lovett, S. D. | Search bioRxiv

bioRxiv2021

Advanced Age Has Dissociable Effects on Hippocampal CA1 and CA3 Ripples

Sharp-wave/ripples are brief, high-frequency events in hippocampal subregions CA3 and CA1 that occur during rest or pauses in behavior. Ripples detected in CA1 have lower frequency in aged compared to young rats. Although CA1 ripples are theorized to manifest from CA3, ripple dynamics in CA3 have not been examined in aged animals. The current study obtained simultaneous recordings between CA1 and CA3 in young and aged rats to examine sharp-wave/ripple characteristics in both regions in relation to age. While CA1 ripple frequency was reduced with age, there were no age differences in CA3 ripples. In aged, but not young, rats there was also a significant increase in the probability of CA3 and CA1 ripples co-occurring between the pre- and post-behavior rest epochs. Moreover, in both age groups, CA1 ripples that co-occurred with a CA3 ripple had increased frequency, power, and duration. These findings suggest age differences in CA1 are not due to altered afferent input from CA3, but instead reflect distinct mechanisms of ripple generation with age. HIGHLIGHTSO_LICA1 ripple frequency is reduced with age. C_LIO_LICA3 ripple characteristics do not change with age. C_LIO_LIIn aged rats only, CA3-CA1 ripple co-occurrence increased following behavior. C_LIO_LICA1 ripples that co-occurred with CA3 had greater frequency, power, and duration. C_LI

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2018

Theta-Gamma Cascades and Running Speed

The local field potentials (LFPs) of the hippocampus are primarily generated by the spatiotemporal accretion of electrical currents via activated synapses. Oscillations in the hippocampal LFP at theta and gamma frequencies are prominent during awake-behavior and have demonstrated several behavioral correlates. In particular, both oscillations have been observed to increase in amplitude and frequency as a function of running velocity. Previous investigations, however, have examined the relationship between velocity and each of these oscillation bands separately. Based on energy cascade models where \"...perturbations of slow frequencies cause a cascade of energy dissipation at all frequency scales\" (Buzsaki 2006), we hypothesized that the cross-frequency interactions between theta and gamma should increase as a function of velocity. We examined these relationships across multiple layers of the CA1 subregion and found a reliable correlation between the power of theta and the power of gamma, indicative of an amplitude-amplitude relationship. Moreover, there was an increase in the coherence between the power of gamma and the phase of theta, demonstrating increased phase-amplitude coupling with velocity. Finally, at higher velocities, phase entrainment between theta and gamma becomes stronger. These results have important implications and provide new insights regarding how theta and gamma are integrated for neuronal circuit dynamics, with coupling strength determined by the excitatory drive within the hippocampus.

neuroscience↗