Abstract
Complex biological systems exhibit periodicity at multiple frequencies, and these rhythms are rarely independent, exhibiting many forms of coupling including phase synchronization and amplitude comodulation. Brain rhythms – oscillations in electroencephalogram (EEG) and local field potential (LFP) recordings that are signatures of the coordinated activity of neuronal populations – are believed to play a key role in coordinating the activity of neuronal populations across multiple spatial and temporal scales and are known to be associated with a wide range of cognitive and perceptual processes. Phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) – the coordination of phase and amplitude changes in brain rhythms of different frequencies – can be used to illuminate coordination in neurophysiological activity across timescales and brain regions. Here, we describe signal-processing techniques that have been used to both explore and quantify PAC in EEG and LFP time series. Specifically, we focus on the use of surrogate data techniques during exploratory analyses and on the use of PAC to determine directional influences between neural circuits. Our goal is to provide the reader with guidelines on how to apply and interpret both qualitative and quantitative PAC measures and to highlight advantages and limitations of this approach.
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Pittman-Polletta, B.R., Kocsis, B. (2022). Assessing Neural Circuit Interactions and Dynamics with Phase-Amplitude Coupling. In: Vertes, R.P., Allen, T. (eds) Electrophysiological Recording Techniques. Neuromethods, vol 192. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-2631-3_6
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