Pattern dynamics and stochasticity of the brain rhythms

Our current understanding of brain rhythms is based on quantifying their instantaneous or time-averaged characteristics. What remains unexplored is the actual structure of the waves-their shapes and patterns over finite timescales. Here, we study brain wave patterning in different physiological contexts using two independent approaches: The first is based on quantifying stochasticity relative to the underlying mean behavior, and the second assesses orderliness of the waves' features. The corresponding measures capture the waves' characteristics and abnormal behaviors, such as atypical periodicity or excessive clustering, and demonstrate coupling between the patterns' dynamics and the animal's location, speed, and acceleration. Specifically, we studied patterns of 0, y, and ripple waves recorded in mice hippocampi and observed speed-modulated changes of the wave's cadence, an antiphase relationship between orderliness and acceleration, as well as spatial selectiveness of patterns. Taken together, our results offer a complementary-mesoscale-perspective on brain wave structure, dynamics, and functionality.

Automated summary

Our current understanding of brain rhythms is limited to quantifying their characteristics without exploring their structures. In this study, we utilized two independent approaches to investigate brain wave patterns in different physiological contexts. The measures captured the characteristics and abnormal behaviors of the waves and revealed the coupling between the patterns' dynamics and the animal's location, speed, and acceleration. Overall, our findings offer a complementary mesoscale perspective on brain wave structure, dynamics, and functionality.