Publication

Synaptic Tuning of Brain Rhythms: From Chemical Signalling to Cortical Oscillations

2026

Abstract

Stoof et al. investigate why distinct brain regions exhibit characteristic oscillatory frequencies, such as occipital alpha and frontal beta rhythms. Their work elegantly links openly available intracranial EEG spectra from 106 epilepsy patients to synaptic receptor densities from available autoradiography maps in three healthy donors. In the framework of dynamic causal modelling, they show that regional oscillations emerge from balanced combinations of excitatory (AMPAR, NMDAR) and inhibitory receptors (GABAR A or B), while neuromodulatory receptors exert subtler influences.

Official source

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

2026

Abstract

Official source

Related concepts (32)

Alpha wave

Alpha waves, or the alpha rhythm, are neural oscillations in the frequency range of 8–12 Hz likely originating from the synchronous and coherent (in phase or constructive) electrical activity of thalamic pacemaker cells in humans. Historically, they are also called "Berger's waves" after Hans Berger, who first described them when he invented the EEG in 1924. Alpha waves are one type of brain waves detected by electrophysiological and closely related methods, such as by electroencephalography (EEG) or magnetoencephalography (MEG), and can be quantified using quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG).

Neural oscillation

Neural oscillations, or brainwaves, are rhythmic or repetitive patterns of neural activity in the central nervous system. Neural tissue can generate oscillatory activity in many ways, driven either by mechanisms within individual neurons or by interactions between neurons. In individual neurons, oscillations can appear either as oscillations in membrane potential or as rhythmic patterns of action potentials, which then produce oscillatory activation of post-synaptic neurons.

Electroencephalography

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method to record an electrogram of the spontaneous electrical activity of the brain. The biosignals detected by EEG have been shown to represent the postsynaptic potentials of pyramidal neurons in the neocortex and allocortex. It is typically non-invasive, with the EEG electrodes placed along the scalp (commonly called "scalp EEG") using the International 10–20 system, or variations of it. Electrocorticography, involving surgical placement of electrodes, is sometimes called "intracranial EEG".

Related publications (3)

Synaptic Tuning of Brain Rhythms: From Chemical Signalling to Cortical Oscillations

Chat with Graph Search

Data-Driven Methods in Simultaneous EEG-fPET-fMRI: Opportunities and Challenges

Diverse Perceptual Representations Across Visual Pathways Emerge from A Single Objective

Graph network measures of brain connectivity and its relation with cognitive performance in high-risk children