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Updated: Sep 4, 2025

Stimulus-specific Cortical Visual Evoked Potential Morphological Patterns
Published on: May 12, 2019
Gamma rhythms in the visual cortex: functions and mechanisms
Chuanliang Han1, Robert Shapley2, Dajun Xing1
1State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875 China.
Abstract:
Gamma-band activity, peaking around 30-100 Hz in the local field potential's power spectrum, has been found and intensively studied in many brain regions. Although gamma is thought to play a critical role in processing neural information in the brain, its cognitive functions and neural mechanisms remain unclear or debatable. Experimental studies showed that gamma rhythms are stochastic in time and vary with visual stimuli. Recent studies further showed that multiple rhythms coexist in V1 with distinct origins in different species. While all these experimental facts are a challenge for understanding the functions of gamma in the visual cortex, there are many signs of progress in computational studies. This review summarizes and discusses studies on gamma in the visual cortex from multiple perspectives and concludes that gamma rhythms are still a mystery. Combining experimental and computational studies seems the best way forward in the future.
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