Excitatory-inhibitory resonance in cognition stabilizes synaptic traces in memory

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Computational Neuroscience
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Active inference is a neurodevelopmental process.
• It involves excitatory and inhibitory population waves in the cerebral cortex.
• Subcortical controls and cortical geometry regulate this process.

Purpose of the Study:

• To elucidate the mechanisms of active inference in the cerebral cortex.
• To explain how neural oscillations contribute to predictive processing and memory formation.
• To detail the roles of excitatory and inhibitory networks in cognitive representations.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of neural population waves (excitatory and inhibitory).
• Investigation of subcortical and cortical interactions.
• Examination of phase alignment in pyramidal-interneuron network gamma (PING) oscillations.
• Study of resonant oscillatory coherence (ROC) and synaptic plasticity.

Main Results:

• Deep-layer excitatory waves propose predictions; superficial inhibitory networks control precision and error-correction.
• Information representation relies on phase alignment of PING oscillations across cortical layers.
• Resonant Oscillatory Coherence (ROC) between theta and gamma rhythms induces NMDA-mediated synaptic facilitation, forming memory traces.

Conclusions:

• Active inference relies on structured resonance between neural population waves.
• Synaptic plasticity, driven by ROC, underlies memory formation as residuals of active inference.
• Cortical information processing involves a dynamic interplay of excitation, inhibition, and oscillatory dynamics.