Emergence and fragmentation of the alpha-band driven by neuronal network dynamics

Rhythmic neuronal network activity underlies brain oscillations. To investigate how connected neuronal networks contribute to the emergence of the α-band and to the regulation of Up and Down states, we study a model based on synaptic short-term depression-facilitation with afterhyperpolarization (AHP). We found that the α-band is generated by the network behavior near the attractor of the Up-state. Coupling inhibitory and excitatory networks by reciprocal connections leads to the emergence of a stable α-band during the Up states, as reflected in the spectrogram. To better characterize the emergence and stability of thalamocortical oscillations containing α and δ rhythms during anesthesia, we model the interaction of two excitatory networks with one inhibitory network, showing that this minimal topology underlies the generation of a persistent α-band in the neuronal voltage characterized by dominant Up over Down states. Finally, we show that the emergence of the α-band appears when external inputs are suppressed, while fragmentation occurs at small synaptic noise or with increasing inhibitory inputs. To conclude, α-oscillations could result from the synaptic dynamics of interacting excitatory neuronal networks with and without AHP, a principle that could apply to other rhythms.